The Complications Of Love
by GabRussoxo
Summary: Nobody said that love was easy. For Gabriella, she's just figuring that out. But just when she thinks there's a happy ending ahead, fate goes and screws it all up. I guess love really does have complications. But it's worth it in the end... Right?
1. Chapter 1: Moving

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Stephenie Meyer's characters only those in my imagination.**

**Preface**

Love. A four letter word that can have different meanings and different opinions. For some it is hearts and flowers; full of happiness. But for others it is painful, destructive and can bring them to their knee. Then there is this topic on soul mates, your other half as some would describe. I never believed in them and refused to think that they existed.

What I didn't know was that they did in fact exist and one day I would come face to face with him. My soul mate. I didn't know that when I did meet him everything I thought were only fairytales and myths would become reality. And I didn't know that my entire life would be changed forever and could never return to normal.

But if I could trade our love for a normal life, I wouldn't. Because our love is more precious than anything else in the world.

**Chapter 1: Moving.**

_Gabriella's POV_

Rain. Cold, wet and it was pouring outside my window on the day of our move. I didn't really mind because it fit my depressive mood perfectly. I couldn't believe what was happening right now. My parents were making our family of ten move to my father's hometown, a little reservation called La Push. I had only been there once or twice when I was little and my memories of the area were very vague.

"Gabriella honey, come down and say one last goodbye to your friends." My mother Beth called from outside my room.

I didn't. I couldn't. I felt numb with pain. I had lived in Los Angeles my whole life, I was even born here! My mom then walked into my room to try and console me.

"Honey, you'll be fine. You can make new friends in La Push! We're going to your father's old friend's house Harry Clearwater. He has a daughter one year older than you named Leah and he has a son one year younger than you named Seth. See friends in no time." She said smiling at me.

I tried to smile back at her but it was no use. She smiled sympathetically at me before leaving my room. Tears were forming in my eyes, threatening to spill over but I didn't let them. I had promised myself I wasn't going to cry. So I stood from my bed, picked up my bag and straightened my clothes. I looked around my room one last time before walking out and going downstairs to my family.

"Took you long enough." my older brother Danny smirked at me. "Don't be moping around so much sis, me and Josh will be there to cheer you up!"

"Yeah Gab, we got your back." My brother Josh chimed in.

"Thanks guys." I said smiling weakly at them.

I then looked over at my three best friends standing in the corner of the room. Rachel, Alex, Stevie and me had all been best friends since kindergarten. Whenever somebody gave any of us some trouble, we would all have each other's back. It had always been like that ever since. I walked over to them and gave them all a big hug.

"I'm going to miss you so much!" cried Rachel.

"It just wouldn't be the same without my partner in crime here with me." said Stevie.

"I'm okay, because you're my cousin so I can see you on special occasions and get togethers." said my cousin Alex grinning at me.

"You HAVE to take us with you whenever you go to visit Gabriella!"

"Of course I will!" agreed Alex.

"You guys! This won't be the last time we'll see each other, I'll make sure of that." I said.

"You better or I'll never stop texting or calling you!" Stevie said jokingly at me.

I smiled at them before giving them all one last hug before we had to go.

"I'll call as soon as I get there, I promise!" I assured them as i was getting into the car.

"You better Russo!" Rachel yelled after me.

But I barely heard because we had already driven away. Away from our home and to our new life in our new house. I couldn't call it home. Simply because it wasn't.


	2. Chapter 2: Seth

**Chapter 2: Seth.**

_Gabriella's POV_

The plane ride to Seattle was hectic. My youngest brother Jasper cried all the way there and wouldn't stop. And as if that wasn't enough to annoy me I had to sit beside my sixteen year old sister Asia who went on and on about missing her boyfriend. But I hadn't complained because I had been asleep for most of the ride so fortunately I missed most of it.

Once we got off the plane, we had to grab our luggage and let me tell you, it isn't easy to do that with a family of ten like ours. My mom suggested that we have something to eat as it was getting dark outside but we all turned down her offer. I didn't really have an appetite and I was not in the mood to shove something down my throat for the sake of it.

As soon as we were out of the airport we found out that my parents had bought a car for us to use for the drive to La Push instead of getting a cab there. It was pretty handy of them to think of doing that.

"Okay kids, my old friend Harry and his family are already waiting for us in our new house. Now, I trust you all will be on your best behaviour." My dad said to us in the backseat, eyeing Josh because he knew he could get into all sorts of mischief.

After that there was a silence in the car and I soon fell asleep again. I kept thinking about how my life would change once I started school after the summer. I had to make new friends and meet new people. What if nobody even wanted to talk to me? I had tried reasoning with my parents about staying in LA but they wouldn't have any of it.

I regained consciousness just as we were passing the 'Welcome to La Push' sign with all the information about the area on it. The area was not what I expected. I thought it to be some boring reservation with nothing to do but I was mistaken. There was a huge forest that surrounded the entire reservation and there was an amazing view. There were a few houses along the road but most of them looked small and I wondered just how many people lived here.

"Hey Danny," I said turning to him. "We could go hiking in the woods one day. You up for it?"

"Sure, when do you want to go?" he answered.

"How about this Saturday? Sound good to you?" I asked him.

"Yeah sure, that sounds good to me." He said.

"You kids should be careful out there. I heard from your father that there are some wolves that are loose in the area, I don't want any of you getting hurt." My mom warned us. I rolled my eyes at how protective she was being. There was a small chance we would even run into any of those wolves.

"Don't worry mom, if they go after us I'll just give them Danny then I'll be safe!" I said to my mom while smirking at Danny.

"Gee sis, I'm feeling the love." Danny replied sarcastically.

"Okay kids, we're here!" my dad said enthusiastically as he stopped the car in front of a house.

The house was pretty big. It was a two-storey rectangular structure with big windows that shined in the sunlight and a small lawn at the front which had freshly cut grass and a small wooden fence. Just then an elderly man walked through the front door followed by two beautiful women and a teenage boy. There was a big lorry parked outside the house and I guessed that they were our things from back home.

"Greg, it's good to see you!" the man said, walking over to my dad and patting his back. "Wow! Are these your kids? They've grown up so much since the last time I saw them, but of course it has been fifteen years." He said chuckling to himself while his family stood by his side.

"Yeah, it's been a while, we've been so busy with our jobs in Los Angeles we never did find the time to visit but I'm sure we'll get caught up pretty easily. Kids this is my old friend Harry and his wife Sue, and his children Leah and Seth. Leah and Seth these are my kids Danny, Gabriella, Josh, Asia, Andrew, Jilliane, Irish and Jasper," he said gesturing to us. We all smiled shyly at each other but I averted my gaze. I noticed the girl called Leah had a slight frown on her face and she looked kinda depressed.

"Well why don't we all get inside? It's freezing and Sue's already made dinner for everyone while we were waiting. We can help you get unpacked later once we're finished eating and besides we've already made your beds for you." Harry said smiling at everyone.

We all walked inside our new house and it was freezing inside. The living room was pretty spacious from what I could see and so was the dining room which was a good thing I guess since there were fourteen of us in total tonight for dinner. There were already plates, utensils and glasses all set out for us.

Saying that dinner was awkward would be the understatement of the century. All the adults laughed and caught up with what they were during the past few years while the rest of us ate in silence while staring curiously at one another. Leah was a beautiful girl who had a frown on her face for the whole of dinner as she stabbed the food on her plate while her brother Seth was the complete opposite. He was pretty hot and he was always smiling and being cheery with everyone.

After dinner, my mom instructed me to help Leah with tidying the table and cleaning the dishes while they all got the boxes from outside. It was fine by me; I didn't really want to walk outside in the freezing cold.

"Hey." I said awkwardly.

"Hi, I'm Leah." She said in reply.

"My name's Gabriella. So... do you go to high school or are you in college?" I asked, hoping she was so I could at least know one person that went to the tribal school.

"Uh no, I just graduated but I'm not sure if I want to go to college or not yet. I had planned to go to college with my boyfriend of four years Sam Uley but he dumped me for my cousin Emily." She said bitterly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." I said apologetically.

"It's alright." She said smiling weakly at me.

There was no more conversation after that.

When we had finished we went into the living room which was filled with boxes of our things. I remembered that I had left my bag in the car so I walked outside quickly to get my bag to check my phone to see if anybody had called me. Sure enough there were five missed calls from Rachel, Alex and Stevie. I decided that is was a better to call them tomorrow instead because I still had to unpack my stuff and arrange them in the room I had to share with Asia and also because of the time difference. I picked up my bag and went upstairs to check out the room my mom had given us. I was pretty happy with the room we got and I'm guessing it was the biggest one in the house.

The room was painted a light shade of baby blue and the ceiling was a creamy colour to match. The window was about three quarters of the wall and beside it was a mirror that which was the whole length of the wall. There were already wardrobes and cupboards inside the room for us to put things in. The beds were both single beds and were ready just as Harry had said earlier on. Since I was inside the room first I picked the bed that looked the most comfortable to sleep in.

"Hey, my dad told me to bring it up here. These are your clothes." said Seth grinning as he walked in, handing me a box.

"Oh yeah, thanks." I said taking the boxes from him.

I had never had a good look at Seth but now that I had it was good. He had shaggy black hair and beautiful chocolate brown eyes to match. He was taller than me by a few inches and he had an amazing smile that could easily make a girl melt in his arms.

"Do you need any help unpacking?" he asked me.

"Uh, yeah sure." I answered.

After about an hour of unpacking boxes of my things and arranging them around the room we had finished. During the time we unpacked, there was a comfortable silence that loomed over us both. I had put all my make-up and jewellery in the cupboards along with my hair products. My wall was filled with pictures with my friends and family from Los Angeles and my clothes and shoes were already inside my side of the wardrobe.

"Thanks Seth. It would have taken me ages to do that if I didn't have you to help me." I said smiling at him.

Just then his mom Sue called him from the bottom of the stairs saying that they had to go home because it was getting late and that they would come back tomorrow to show us around the reservation.

"No problem Gab. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said cheerfully at me before walking out of the room.

"So what do you think of Seth?" Asia asked me, walking into the room as soon as he left, a smirk on her face.

"I guess he's pretty hot." I said shrugging at her.

"Well you'll see him again tomorrow and then maybe you can get his number." She said smirking at me. "Let's go to sleep, I'm so tired!" Asia said climbing into her bed.

"Aren't you going to unpack your stuff?" I asked curiously.

"I can't be bothered right now, I'll do it tomorrow." She answered. I rolled my eyes at her and turned off the light as I climbed into my own bed.

Maybe La Push wouldn't be so bad after all.

**Please review! I would appreciate it and I could use some constructive criticism :) **


	3. Chapter 3: Mission Accomplished

**Ok here's the third chapter to the story! Hope you guys take the time to review.**

**Chapter 3: Mission Accomplished.**

_Gabriella's POV_

I woke up the next morning in a good mood; which was weird considering I never really was in a happy mood ever since I found out we had to move to La Push. I guess I was only like this because I was excited about seeing Seth again. Uggh. I had to get him out of my mind! I had only met him for a few hours and I already had a massive crush on him. I mean, he could have a girlfriend anyway; there was no way a boy like him could be single. What was wrong with me nowadays?

I got up and made my bed before getting dressed for breakfast. I went over to Asia's bed to wake her up but to my surprise it was empty. I looked over at the clock to see what time it was and it read 12:30. SHIT! I ran out of my room and in my rush to get downstairs I ended up tripping on my feet and falling on my butt. I groaned at the slight pain in gave me.

"Geez sis, how clumsy can you get?" asked Danny laughing at me.

"As clumsy as you can get when somebody says there's a hot girl in the room." I shot back at him.

"Shut up." He said to me as he trotted up the stairs.

I rolled my eyes at him and walked into the room where Jasper, Irish and Andrew were watching cartoons on the T.V.

"Hey guy, where's everybody else?" I said turning to Andrew.

"They're in the kitchen eating; you missed breakfast by the way. Did you know that it's the most important meal of the day?" Andrew said matter-of-factually.

"Yes actually, I did know that." I answered. Andrew had always been like this. He was such a dork.

I walked into the kitchen where I could hear my mom Beth and sister Asia arguing. I walked in awkwardly and they stared at me for a split second before going back to arguing again. I sat down at the kitchen table and grabbed a pancake that was sitting out on the table. I tried listened to what they were arguing about; probably something silly as always.

"But mom!" Asia argued. "You don't understand, Brad's only coming here for a few days. It won't be that big a bother, you're just being totally unfair!" she yelled at my mom.

I suddenly spit out the pancake I had just started to chew in my mouth.

"WAIT! Brad's coming here!" I questioned them both with wide eyes.

To be completely honest I hated Brad. The first few weeks he and Asia had started dating he was always flirting with me until one day when I had had enough and punched him in the face when Asia had left the room to go to the toilet. He was way too clingy anyways; Asia was just too blind to see it.

"Yes, he is. And mom isn't letting me because she says we've haven't been separated for that long." She yelled at me while throwing dirty looks at my mother.

"Oh for god's sake! It's only been about two days, I would understand if it's been about a month but it hasn't been has it? So you shall wait until I think it's suitable enough for him to visit. And anyways, you shouldn't be so hung up on your boyfriend! You're still young; you can worry about boyfriends when you're a bit older. This conversation is over; now get ready for the beach because we're meeting the Clearwaters there for a barbeque. You too Gabriella, you can eat later." She said ordering us both upstairs.

I set down the pancake I was in the middle of eating and did as she said. We walked through the living room and up the stairs. As soon as mom was out of earshot Asia turned to me.

"How can she be SO unfair?" Asia asked me. "I'm pretty sure if I asked granny about mom and her boyfriends when she was younger she would say she was caught up with boys to." She huffed.

I just laughed at her and told her to get over it. We entered our room and I walked over to my wardrobe to find a bikini to wear to the beach later on. I really wanted to make a good impression for Seth today at the beach today. Maybe just maybe, he would ask me out on a date. But I tried not to get my hopes up; he could have a girlfriend I reminded myself. Asia grabbed a bag and made her way downstairs while I was still getting all my things ready. I tried to think of what I could possibly bring to the beach.

"Come on Gab! We're leaving without you if you don't get here in the next 5...4...3..." Josh yelled up the stairs.

"Coming!" I yelled back as I grabbed my beach towel, extra clothes, my phone and sun block.

I rushed down the stairs to the door where everyone was rushing into the car so we could leave.

"Ready." I said while walking out of the front door with Josh.

-0-

When my dad had parked the car in the beach parking lot, we all rushed out of the car. First Beach was peaceful and nice and the view of the ocean and forest was spectacular. Just then a wind blew by me as I walked to where the Clearwaters where, sending shivers down my spine and causing goosebumps to appear on my arm. Guess I didn't need the sun block after all. Just then I caught sight of Seth by the water. He was shirtless showing of his six-pack. Damnit! How was I going to make it through the day if I already thought he looked hot with a shirt on? I bet my brothers had put him up to this. They wanted to give me a heart attack. But the good thing was I didn't see any other girl apart from his mom and Leah.

"Hey Gabriella!" Leah called out to me by the huge picnic table set out for us to eat on.

"Oh, hey Leah! You know you can call me Gab right?" I asked her playfully.

"Okay then, Gab, and you can call me Lee if you want." She said winking at me while throwing me a grin.

"Okay then." I said smiling back.

Just then someone came up behind me.

"Hey gorgeous." Seth said throwing me a wink that made my heart skip a beat.

"Uhh...Hey." I managed to say back.

"D'you wanna go with me by the water?" he asked.

I looked over at the ocean. As much as I wanted to spend time with him, the water did look freezing and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a sane idea...

"Are you sure that's a good idea? It looks cold." I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He laughed at me.

"It's not THAT cold. Come on Gab, don't you trust me?" he said with puppy dog eyes.

Shit. I couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes.

"Ok fine. But if I get sick, it's on you." I said smirking at him.

"I think I can handle that." He said smirking back at me.

I took off my t-shirt which left me in my bikini top and shorts. Then we ran to the water's edge and I stood there, watching the waves hit against my feet. I was right; the water was cold. I noticed that there weren't that many people out on the beach today and I wondered why.

Seth managed to snap me back to reality and started to ask me random questions about my life in Los Angeles. Things like was I friendless loser or if I actually had friends. I punched him playfully on the shoulder for asking me that. I told him a bit about my life in LA and he seemed satisfied with my answer. I got distracted by a seagull flying over the ocean gracefully. Before I knew it, I felt two strong arms wrapping around my waist to throw me into the water. The coldness of the water was the first thing I noticed as I dropped into it. It was like needles pricking into my skin.

I stood up to glare at Seth and get my revenge on him for throwing me in the water. But when I rose up from the water, he was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the beach and I saw my family with the Clearwaters but no sign of Seth. Where was he?

"Looking for me?" He said laughing at me from behind, which caught me of guard.

I turned around and glared at him.

"I hate you." I gritted at him, "I'll get you back for that Clearwater." I said as I walked away from him.

"Aw come on Gab! I was just messing about. I'm sorry." He said turning me to face him and putting on a pouty face.

"Fine," I said. "But I'm still getting you back."

I hated not being able to resist his beautiful brown eyes and pouty face. Note to self: Don't let him wrap you around his finger.

"Come on!" he said. "I can smell the barbeque from here and I'm hungry." Just then he stomach rumbled. Loudly.

I couldn't help but laugh at him. "Yeah I could tell by your stomach growling at me." I said still laughing. He blushed at me but shrugged his shoulders dismissively.

"Seth! Gabriella! Hurry up or else there'll be no food left for you guys!" Harry's wife Sue called out to us from the water.

"We'll be there soon mom!" Seth yelled back. "Race ya!" he said to me.

"Bring it." I said pushing him back into the water and sprinting towards the table.

"Cheater!" He yelled from behind me.

I got to the table first out of breath and was handed a paper plate by Leah. I picked up a cob of corn and a pork kebab.

"You know," Seth said coming towards me, "I only let you win."

"Yep, sure you did. Whatever saves your manly pride Seth." I said rolling my eyes at him.

The food was delicious. I later found out Harry and Sue had cooked it. No wonder it had tasted so good. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents and all but they couldn't cook to save their lives. Which was why mostly Danny, Me, Josh and Asia cooked dinner most of the time.

Jasper, Irish, Jilliane and Andrew all finished first because they had eaten in a mad rush to be able to play with the beach balls we had brought with us. I was just about o talk to Leah when just then a football landed near my feet.

"Sorry beautiful." Said a really buff guy walking up to me to get the football.

I turned around to see where the voice had came from and saw a really tall and intimidating guy grinning at me, "Ok first of all: Get your ball and go away. And Second of all: Don't call me beautiful you fucktard." I snapped at him.

"Geez... Attitude much?" He said still trying to flirt with me.

"Don't you have better things to do?" I asked, annoyed.

"Nah, I have a date but she's turning out to be boring." He replied.

I rolled my eyes at him and gave him the cold shoulder praying that if I ignored him he would just go away. But of course he didn't. Because me Gabriella Marie Russo had just the BEST luck in the world. Not.

"Well, how about you come with me over to my friends over there," he said pointing over to some other guys with their arms wrapped around some girls. "And then you could tell all of us your name. I'm sure my friend Embry would appreciate meeting you." He said flashing me a wink.

"Umm, how about... No." I said. "Come on Seth, I've got better things to do than talk to this guy who apparently doesn't get that I'm NOT interested." I said yelling the last part while turning to Seth.

"Fine then." He said clearly annoyed by me rejecting him and trotted off to join his friends.

I was glad that all the adults had left to go have some privacy just before he came or else I would have been in BIG trouble.

"Uggh, Who was that guy? He's so annoying!" I groaned, turning to Leah, Seth, Danny, Josh and Asia.

"Paul Lahote. He's part of La Push's gang along with Sam Uley, Jared Cameron and Embry Call." Leah answered me.

"He may be annoying but he's hot!" Asia said giddily.

"Hey Asia, I think you might've have forgotten something. You know like the fact you have a boyfriend back in L.A." Josh sarcastically said to her.

"Wait a minute. La Push has a gang." I snorted at how stupid that sounded. How could a small reservation like this possibly have a gang?

"Yeah, they all think they're so cool but really they're just guys who use steroids and sleeps around with all the girls in town." Seth said to me and I swear I could catch a hint of anger in his tone.

"How pathetic!" I said wrinkling my nose at him.

"I know right!" Leah agreed, nodding her head at me.

"Whatever, Leah, Danny, Josh come help me with something?" Asia said winking at me. I knew this was part of her plan to get Seth to ask me out. I just gave her a dirty look and tried to get her to understand not to do this to me.

"Fine." Where the three responses she got. They all got up and left with Asia throwing me a smirk and a thumbs up as she left.

"So Gab," Seth said to me as soon as they had left, "Would you umm... go out... with me this Friday night?" Seth asked me, blushing as he did so.

_YES. YES. AND HELL YES! _The voice inside my head screamed at me.

"Uhh, sure." I said smiling at him while trying to act cool when really I was freaking out on the inside. I had to try and contain the giggle that was dying to come out.

"Awesome so I'll pick you up Friday night at seven and we could go watch a movie then go out to eat. Sound good?" Seth said grinning at me with his amazing smile as always.

"Yep, sounds awesome." I said smiling back while my heart skipped beats because of the smile he had given me.

"Cool. So what movie do you want to see?"

"I don't know. Do you know any good movies?" I asked him.

"Nope." He answered.

"I'm sure we'll find something when we get there Seth, don't worry." I said.

"Ok here's my phone number by the way." He said passing me a piece of paper.

"Thanks, I'll text you tonight so you can get my number." I said smiling at him.

"Great." He said.

Mission accomplished I thought to myself.

**Please review! Thanks xx**


	4. Chapter 4: This thing called Imprinting

**Ok so here's Chapter 4! I'm sorry its taken ages to update, I had writer's block then I was sick. Oh and thanks Sendok98 for being my first reviewer! I appreciate it. **

**Chapter 4: This thing called Imprinting**

_Embry's POV_

I never expected much out of today. I thought it would just be one of those normal days, you know me flirting around with the girls from school and eventually getting one of them to go out on a date with me then... well, I'm pretty sure you know what happens after that. But I never thought it would one day happen to me. I had given up on finding her. But then today happened and well, it changed my whole view on it.

I'll start from the beginning so you know exactly what happened.

So I was just at the beach with Paul, just chilling while catching sneak peeks from the girls in bikinis a few metres away from us. The tall, skinny brunette had caught my eye and judging from the glances she was giving me I had definitely caught her eye too. I noticed her as Jasmine, a girl form school. So when I had finally got the nerve to go and ask her out she said yes.

After the beach I had to patrol till five which gave me two hours to get ready for my date with Jasmine. I ran into the woods, shed my shorts and phased.

"_Jeez Em, ANOTHER date?" Jared said._

"_Shut up Jared. Just because you imprinted and now you're hung up over Kim doesn't mean I'm going to stop." I snapped at him. I hated it when the guys judged me on what I did; we couldn't all be as lucky as them._

_I had nothing against imprinting. In fact I loved the idea of finding my soul mate, but I still hadn't found my imprint and I was jealous of those who had._

"_Don't worry, one day it will happen for you to." Jared said reassuringly as he heard what I was thinking about._

"_Thanks bro." I said to him._

"_Whatever, I gotta go. I'm supposed to meet Kim in fifteen minutes and I don't want to be late." He said happily at the thought of seeing Kim again._

"_Uggh. Just keep your thoughts about Kim to yourself." I said disgustingly at him._

"_Speak for yourself Embry! You keep your x-rated thoughts about Jasmine to yourself." He said back to me._

"_Whatever." I said as he phased out._

Running patrol was boring by myself. I thought about my best friend Quil who I had to ignore to keep him safe. Then I thought about my best friend Jacob and wondered what he would be up to right now, no doubt thinking about some chick named Bella AGAIN. I don't even know why he liked her; she was a bit too plain for my liking and she was clumsy. Then there's my mom; she didn't know that I was risking my life to protect the tribe and instead thought I was dealing drugs or something so she grounded me. Permanently. My life was seriously fucked up ever since I had phased into a wolf.

"_HA! We're all fucked up. Now get outta here and get ready for your little date with Jasmine." Paul thought as he came to take over my shift. _

"_Fine." I said grinning at him as I phased out._

As soon as I got home I took a shower with warm water, despite my 108 degree body temperature, and relaxed my aching muscles from all the running I did. I stepped out and went to my room to figure out a good outfit for my date with Jasmine. I decided to just go casual with a pair of khaki shorts and a plain white shirt that showed off my muscles. I was thankful that my mom was still working at the shop so she wouldn't start yelling at me again for not being in bed last night. If only she knew.

I grabbed a bottle of gel that was on the table in my bedroom and was about to put it in my hair when I remembered what Paul said about putting gel in my hair.

"_Getting gel out of your fur in wolf form is a bitch. Trust me I would know."_

I set down the gel and walked downstairs to the living room. I grabbed my keys and looked at the clock. 6.45.

_Just in time to go pick up Jasmine_ I thought as I headed out to my truck outside.

_Gabriella's POV_

Now usually in movies, you see girls spending what seems like fifty hours just to get ready for a date with a boy. And this time was no different. I had stared at my closet filled with clothes for one hour and I still hadn't decided on anything. Why did this have to be so difficult for girls?

_If only Alex was here _I thought to myself as I sighed at the thought.

After talking/arguing with myself for fifteen minutes I decided to go casual with white jeans, a navy blue lacy tank top and some nude coloured ballet flats with a flower on the front. I grabbed my towel and wash bag and went into the shower to help calm my nerves for my date with Seth tonight.

After stepping out of the shower I had felt more relaxed and I started to get changed. I then went to put on some make-up, going natural and just wearing a light coat of foundation and eyeliner. My mom had always told me I was a 'natural beauty'. I didn't believe her though.

I then blow dried my naturally curly hair and just let it loose, only adding a small ribbon clip to the left side and brushing out my fringe. When I decided I was finally done, I walked downstairs to where my siblings were. My parents had gone out on a date because it was their anniversary and so Danny and Josh were in charge. I didn't know how they thought that was better than just leaving us alone but hey, I didn't know what went on in my parents' brains.

I was just about to sit down to calm my nerves down when I heard a knock on the door.

"Shit." I muttered to myself as I went to open the door.

I was already nervous as it was but when I opened the door to reveal Seth my nervousness went right through the roof. He had on some denim jeans, a nicely fitted black shirt and a leather jacket, as if the shirt wasn't enough.

"Hey." I said to him shyly. Damnit Gabriella! Remember what we talked about. Cool, calm and collected. Deep breath, one, two, three.

"Hey Gab! You look beautiful tonight." He said in his usual charming tone.

I blushed at his compliment and looked at him. He was chuckling at my embarrassment.

"Thanks, you look good to." I said smiling at him.

"You ready to go? The movie starts in an hour and I don't want to miss any of it." He said as he took my hand in his.

"Sure!" I replied. "Danny I'm going now! I'll be back by eleven." I yelled at my brother sitting lazily on the couch.

"Fine, but remember! Safe sex kids." He said winking at me as he tried to hold back a laugh.

"Nice one bro! Up top." Josh said reaching over to give him a high-five.

I blushed uncontrollably and I felt the awkward atmosphere in the air. I turned to glare at my two brothers who were laughing hysterically at the lame joke Danny had said.

"Yeah, that was a nice one Danny! But you know what's better than that? Mom knowing about you and that girl from spring break." I said threatened while throwing him an evil smirk.

Danny's eyes widened with horror. "You wouldn't." He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh come on Danny! I thought you knew me better than that." I said winking at him while grabbing Seth's hand and rushing out the door as he was about to say something back. I slowed down to a normal pace when we were far enough from the door.

"Sorry about my brothers. They're just... weird." I said to Seth grinning at him.

"It's okay. It was funny anyway." He said grinning back at me.

I had expected the car ride to be awkward but I was wrong. It was fun. We laughed and talked all the way, while singing along to the radio. When we got to the movie theatre in Forks and parked the car, Seth went over to my side and opened my door for me.

"Thanks." I said as I got out of the car.

"No problem. That's what gentlemen do." He said flashing me a wink.

"I thought chivalry was dead." I teased.

"Yeah, well you thought wrong." He teased back.

We walked inside and I saw a couple of people staring at me; probably because I was new in town. We stood in line and Seth bought the tickets while I bought the snacks. Seth tried to stop me but I bought them anyway.

The movie was boring as I expected but me and Seth had talked all the way through it so we had missed most of it. Which was fine with me. We were walking hand in hand out of the theatre when Seth's stomach grumbled loudly. We looked at each other and laughed out loud.

"Let's go get you some food!" I said patting his stomach.

"What can I say? I'm a growing boy; I need my energy for healthy growth." He replied smiling. I just stopped myself before I blurted out 'you already look good'. That would've been embarrassing.

We were just about to walk into the restaurant when a tall, tan skinned boy walked out with a girl that was wearing a dress way too short that it should be illegal.

"Watch where you're going moron." The girl yelled frustrated at us.

"If you actually had a brain, you would know it was your fault." I retorted back at her. No way was I letting her think she could boss me about. I folded my arms at her as I glared at her.

She glared at me back before turning to her date.

"Come on Embry! We've got better things to do than talk to these losers." She said glaring at me.

I looked at the boy she was talking to and my heart set of in a galloping speed. He was looking at me intensely with beautiful chocolate brown eyes and smiled brightly when he saw me looking at him. What was wrong with this idiot? But his name was familiar to me. Then it hit me. He was the guy that that Paul dude was trying to set me up with on the beach the other day. He was part of La Push's 'Gang'. I snorted at the thought while he looked confused for a second.

"Hey Seth." He said, turning to him and smiling slightly.

Oh great. He knows Seth. I just wanted to run away from him. He was looking really weirdly at me and it made me feel uncomfortable.

"Hey Embry." Seth responded back at him, not bothering to smile.

Good! He doesn't want to be in this position just as much as I don't want to be.

"Come on Seth." I said grabbing his hand and turning to go in the restaurant.

"WAIT!" Embry said, stopping me by grabbing my wrist.

"What?" I questioned him impatiently.

"What's your name?" he asked me hopefully.

I frowned at him and grabbed my wrist back and walked into the restaurant with Seth.

"Can you believe that guy?" I said frustrated.

Seth just laughed and walked over to the table we were seated at.

_Embry's POV_

I couldn't believe what just happened. One minute I was thinking about how good Jasmine looked in the dress she was wearing and the next I imprint on Seth Clearwater's date.

She was beautiful. The most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her face was perfect and I could spend forever looking into her amazing brown eyes. She was quite tall and her figure was what girls would call to die for. She had an attitude but I didn't really mind. But I was annoyed when she didn't tell me her name. I really wanted to know what it was. But oh well! I would find out soon enough. She was my imprint after all. But I don't think I've ever seen her before. I would have to do ask the guys if they've seen her before.

"EMBRY! Come on, I thought we were going back to your place after we had dinner." Jasmine yelled obviously angry that I wasn't paying attention to her like I had been the whole night.

But I couldn't find it in me to care any longer. I had finally found my imprint and I wasn't going to let her see the old me. The one that slept around carelessly with girls. I turned to look at Jasmine and tell her that I was just going to take her home when I suddenly noticed that her face was blurry to me. Oh yeah! Imprinted shape shifters couldn't see any girl that wasn't their imprint unless they were in pain or danger.

"Sorry Jasmine, change of plans. I have something else I have to do so I'll just have to take you home now." I lied.

"What? Is it because of that dumb girl with the other guy? Because I am way prettier than her!" she said. Jeez! This girl was so full of herself.

"Don't call her dumb!" I said getting angry at her. How dare she call my imprint dumb? "And you have to stop listening to your dad whenever he tells you you're pretty." I snapped at her.

"You jerk! Why did I ever go out with you? This was such a mistake. People are right, you're nothing but a bastard!" she yelled at me, her eyes fuming with anger. But I couldn't care any less about what she thought of me.

I snorted at her and bent close to her face.

"And to think I'm the bastard that you just wanted to sleep with." I said as I started to walk away from her. "Oh! And find your own way back home." I yelled at her as I started my truck and drove away.

Now that I was free of Jasmine, my thoughts drifted back to my imprint. How old was she? Where did she live? Was she new here? All these thoughts were in my head as I was driving.

Goodbye Jasmine.

Hello Imprint.

**And that's how he imprints on her! Sorry if this was short. I promise to make the next chapter longer though! Please review! Thanks xx**


	5. Chapter 5: Meet The Parents

**Here's chapter 5! Please remember to review. Thanks! **

**Chapter 5: Meet The Parents.**

_Seth's POV_

I woke up to my parents arguing downstairs in the kitchen. I kept quiet so I that I could sneak downstairs without being heard and eavesdrop on their conversation. What could they be fighting about? In all my life, I've never really heard them arguing seriously, only playfully.

"Harry this is serious! You need to get checked up, this isn't something to be taken lightly. Think about what would happen if something was to happen to you. Think about who would get hurt. It's not only you that's going to suffer but also me, Leah and Seth. Don't you care about how we feel?" she questioned him.

"Don't be silly Sue! Of course I care about your feelings, you're my family. But I feel fine and I promise if I feel anything again this time, I will get checked up. Don't be so stressed about me honey." He said trying to calm her down.

"The next time might be your last time." Mom warned him but there was worry in her tone.

"Don't be silly! You can't get rid of me that quickly." Dad responded trying to lighten the mood. Unfortunately it didn't work.

I started to get worried. Why did my dad need to get checked up? Did he have a serious illness I didn't know about? If he did why hadn't he told me or Leah? Unless Leah already knew that is.

I snuck back into my bedroom quietly and pretended I was sleeping because I could hear my mom coming up the stairs to wake me and Leah up for breakfast. I doubt she would get Leah to go downstairs because she was still moping about her ex-boyfriend Sam Uley. Sam had dumped her for our cousin Emily on her graduation dinner and Leah was heartbroken and angry at Emily for betraying her. I was mad at Sam. I used to think of him as someone I could look up to but look at what he did. After he dumped Leah, I hadn't really talked to him.

I heard my mom quietly approach my room so I pretended to snore lightly so she wouldn't suspect anything.

"Seth, are you awake sweetheart?" she called out to me as she poked her head through a small gap in the door.

I yawned and sat up slowly on my bed. "Uh yeah, well at least now I am." I said smiling at her.

"Ok, well breakfast is ready downstairs so come down soon or the food will get cold." She said.

"Ok I will, you know I can't resist your cooking." I said smiling at her. "Oh, and remember mom, I'm brining Gabriella over for dinner tonight." I reminded her.

"Yeah, I know Seth honey. You haven't stopped reminding me about that since the start of the week." She said giving me a knowing look and I blushed embarrassingly while she chuckled lightly and walked out of my room.

With Gabriella in mind, I thought about our relationship. We had been out on three dates and all of them had went perfectly if I do say so myself. Except for our first date where we encountered Embry Call out with the slut of La Push High, Jasmine. Thankfully though, none of us ever brought it up again. Gabriella made me smile and laugh and she was fun to be around. She even sometimes got Leah out of her depressive mood and they would go out shopping or spend some girl time together.

On our third date I had asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend and she said yes. I was ecstatic that she had said that because I had been worried that she would say that she just wanted to be friends, because it wasn't every day that a hot girl like her would want to go out with a guy like me. And what surprised me is that she said yes so quickly; most girls would say they needed more time.

I got up out of bed and walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth and freshen up. When I was done, I walked past Leah's bedroom and peeked in. She was lying in bed with an expressionless face, something she had been doing since Sam broke the news to her.

"Hey Lee, Gab's coming over for dinner tonight." I said, hopeful that it would cheer her up just a little. It did. As soon as I said that, she sat up in bed and smiled a little.

"Ok, what time are you picking her up?" she asked me.

"Well I told her I would pick her up around 7-ish." I answered. "Oh, and mom said to come down for breakfast."

She sighed. "Fine." She said getting up and walking over to the door.

We walked downstairs together and as soon as we got to the living room, the delicious smell of eggs and bacon hit me and my mouth started to water with hunger.

When we walked into the dining room, sure enough my parents were eating eggs and bacon while talking quietly to themselves. They stopped whispering though once they saw me and Leah walk through the door.

"Ah Leah, glad to see you came downstairs to eat breakfast with us." My dad said to Leah.

"Yeah, Seth got me to go down by telling me that Gabriella was coming over for dinner tonight." Leah responded.

My parents laughed.

"If we only knew that Gabriella coming over would get you out of your bed, we would've had her over all the time." Mom said.

Leah snorted. "I don't think Seth would mind that." She said smirking at me.

I glared at her while I blushed and walked to the table with my head down. My mom handed me a plate and I started putting eggs and bacon.

"Don't be shy son, it's alright. She's your girlfriend anyway. Just don't have sex yet. You're far too young for that." He said which caused everyone to laugh at me.

I almost choked on the piece of bacon I was trying to swallow. "Dad!" I said still embarrassed. "We aren't going to do THAT." I grumbled. My cheeks felt like they were on fire so I ducked my head down.

"Ok, I was just saying." He said chuckling.

_Gabriella's POV_

My head was aching. I felt so sick but I didn't pay any attention to it because I was going to dinner with Seth and his family tonight and I didn't want to cancel on him. Not only was my head aching but there was also this tug on my spine which I felt was pulling me to something or someone. I had had this feeling ever since my first date with Seth. I felt like I was missing something but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I was sitting in bed texting Rachel, Alex and Stevie when I suddenly heard a howl rise from the forest which caused goosebumps to appear on my arm. I walked over to my window where I could see the forest in my backyard. As soon as I looked out, I saw a gray wolf with black spots on its back staring up at me. The wolf was gigantic. It looked like it was as tall as a horse, heck maybe even taller! But it had the most intelligent, human looking, brown eyes I had ever seen.

Normally I would have been scared and jumped back into bed but this wolf fascinated me for some unknown reason. I walked downstairs and outside into the backyard. I was alone in the house because the rest of my family had gone to Port Angeles to buy some supplies and look around.

It was freezing outside and I had forgotten to grab a jacket so I went back in and grabbed a knitted off shoulder sweater and put in on over the white vest and shorts I was already wearing before going outside to see the wolf.

I approached the wolf cautiously and it did the same. When I was directly in front of it, I noticed that it was taller than me. What kind of wolf was this? Maybe it was one of the wolves that my mom was talking about when we had gotten here a few weeks ago. I guess that's why they were running loose around the area; nobody knew how to kill them and if they tried they probably got their head chewed off.

It bowed down its head and I patted it. His fur was soft and I felt like I was running my hand through some warm silk. It must have liked me running my hand through its fur because it licked my hand after. I smiled at the wolf and it looked like it was smiling back. He then licked my face which caused me to giggle.

"EEWW! Bad wolf!" I said laughing and wiping my face with my sweater. "My name's Gabriella." I said touching his fur again.

"I guess I'll have to name you since you can't talk. Hmm... What's a good name for a wolf?" I wondered. "Oh I know! We can name you Wolfie! It's not very good but I don't know what else to name you." I said grinning at him.

The wolf started barking but it sounded more like it was laughing. Could it understand me?

"Come on Wolfie; let's go sit on the grass." I said leading it onto the grass. I sat down and gestured for him to do the same. He laid his body on the grass but he placed his head on my lap. I didn't really mind and started to run my fingers through his fur. It's started making a noise which sounded like it was purring. I smiled at Wolfie.

We stayed there for who knows how long when I heard my family's car approaching so I stood up quickly.

"Wolfie my family's here. You could come back again tomorrow and we could spend time together." I said smiling at it. "Bye bye Wolfie." I said while I got inside and Wolfie ran into the forest.

I smiled to myself and went outside to see if my family needed any help carrying things in.

"No thanks honey, we got this. We didn't really buy much anyway. We only got the things we needed then we went out for lunch." Mom said.

"Yeah, you should go up and get ready for dinner with Seth's family tonight, it's already six o'clock and he said he was picking you up at seven remember?" dad joined in.

"Ok, thanks." I said racing to my bedroom to get my towel and have a nice, long, relaxing shower.

-0-

I was sitting in the living room all by myself while my family was having dinner in the other room. I had butterflies in my stomach and no matter how many deep breaths I took, it just wouldn't go away.

I was wearing a lilac t-shirt with a blue and purple patterned dress on top. I had knee-high socks on and long grey boots to match. I didn't bother with make-up and I only had on a long, golden locket and a purity ring my parents had given me on my thirteenth birthday. And for my hair I only had a simple flower headband in my hair.

At exactly seven o'clock someone knocked on the door. I stood up and went to go open it. On the other side was Seth with the biggest smile I had ever seen.

"Hey beautiful." Seth said as he pulled me to him and gave me a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Hey." I replied after our small kiss.

"You ready to go? My parents are excited about tonight and Leah's been waiting for you all day." He said grinning at me.

"Uh, yeah I'm ready. I just need to tell my parents we're going." I told him. "Come on in for a minute."

"Ok." he responded.

I walked into the dining just as everyone was beginning to eat their dinner.

"Mom, dad, me and Seth are going now." I told them.

"Oh yes, honey enjoy yourself. And don't forget to say hello to Harry and Sue for me darling." Mom answered.

"Yeah, and ask Harry about his heart pro-." Dad started but was silenced when mom gave him a dirty look and nudged his ribs.

"Ok, you kids should run along now." She said ushering us out the door.

I was tempted to ask what dad was talking about when she cut him off but I decided it was best if I didn't. Besides, Seth looked really uncomfortable about the whole situation earlier on.

The whole ride there was awkward. Which was unusual since Seth always filled in the gaps of our conversations.

"So do you know about the wolves in the forests?" I asked him, hopeful that the awkward silence would end. Thankfully it did.

"Yeah, my dad told me not to go into the woods alone because I might get hurt or lost and not be able to find my way home, but that's all. Why?" he said, taking his eyes off the road to look at me.

"It's just because today I saw one of them." I said awaiting his reaction.

His eyes widened with horror. "WHAT? Did it hurt you? How big was it? Is it true that it's as big as a horse?" he said to quickly for me to understand what he was asking me.

"What? Slow down Seth." I said, laughing at how terrified he looked. "I'm fine, see!"

"Sorry, I was just worried that it hurt you and curious to see if the rumours are true." He said sheepishly at me while he blushed a bit.

"It's ok." I reassured him. "And yeah the rumours are true. It was even taller than me but it didn't hurt me." I added.

"That's good. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you." He said smiling at me as he did so.

"Aww, you're so sweet." I said winking at him.

When Seth finally stopped the car, the butterflies that had disappeared in the car resurfaced again. I didn't want anything to go wrong tonight. I really liked Seth and I wanted to make a good impression for his parents.

"Don't worry so much, baby. They'll love you as much as I do." He said giving me a reassuring smile as he squeezed my hand entered through the door.

I hadn't been to the Clearwater house before. It looked really cosy, the ones where you know that the family is really close and spend time together. I really liked it and silently wished that my house would be like this one day when I was married and had kids.

"You're house is amazing." I told Seth, while staring in awe at the rest of the house. "I wish I could have a house like this one day."

He chuckled. "It's really small though. Don't you want a big house?"

"Well no, not really. We only have big houses because there's ten of us altogether so we need it but I'm sure if there were only four of us like your family, we'd have a house like yours." I replied, grinning at him.

"Seth! Is Gabriella here yet? I've just finished cooking dinner." Sue called from the kitchen.

"Yeah mom, she's here. Where's Leah?" he yelled back at her.

"She's upstairs in her room as usual. Tell her that Gabriella's here and dinner's ready so I need her help setting up the table."

"Will do ma!"

"Come on," he said turning to me. "Leah's going to be happy that you're here."

He took my hand in his and I noticed that it was warm, almost like he had a fever.

"Seth, you're hand is really warm. Do you have a fever?" I asked him worriedly.

"Nope, I feel fine. It must be because I'm nervous about tonight." He said giving me his usual charming smile.

"Oh, ok. And just to let you know, I'm nervous about tonight to." I smiled back.

We walked to the room at the very end of the hall. There was music playing softly inside the room.

"Leah? Gabriella's here." Seth called out to her as he poked his head round the door.

"Is she? Oh my god, I need to talk to her ASAP." She replied back urgently.

"Well it'll have to wait because you need to help mom downstairs to set the table for dinner."

"Uggh, fine." She grumbled as she got up from bed and walked downstairs while giving me big grin as she passed me.

We walked back downstairs and I could smell the delicious scent of Fettuccini Alfredo.

"Mmm. Dinner's smells good." I said laughing.

Seth laughed back. "Yeah, mom's really good at cooking that. It's her specialty."

We walked into the dining area where Harry and Leah were busy setting the table and Sue was bringing in the food.

"Ah, Gabriella. Welcome to our home." Harry said as he gave me a hug.

"Thanks. You're house is wonderful." I replied retuning the hug.

"Well, Sue's responsible for that. I'm not very good when it comes to household things."

"That's a fact." Leah said smirking.

We all laughed as we all sat down at the table to eat.

My eyes widened when I saw how much food Leah and Seth could eat.

Sue laughed at my expression. "They take after their father when it comes to food."

I laughed along with her. "Yeah, I can see that. Seth's right, you're an amazing cook." I said as I ate a forkful of the delicious pasta.

"Thank you, you know I can give you the recipe for it if you want?"

"That'd be great! I could try it out tomorrow because I'm in charge of cooking tomorrow night."

We both laughed. "Are your parents still not cooking?"

"Not after mom gave all of us food poisoning they're not."

When dinner was over, I volunteered to help Leah with the dishes. But also because I wanted to know what she was dying to tell me earlier on.

"So what the important thing you had to tell me earlier on?" I asked as I dried the dishes and put them away in the cupboards.

"You know my ex-boyfriend I was telling you about?" When I nodded she continued. "He's living together in the same house as my cousin Emily." She said as her voice broke, telling me she was close to tears.

"That's awful! Why would your cousin do such a thing to you?"

"I don't know, it's just heartbreaking to know that he's so over me and I'm here still wishing he would come back to me."

"Well, he doesn't know what he's missing out on. You're an amazing person and any guy would be lucky to be able to call you theirs."

She smiled at me. "You really know what to say to me. Thanks for making me feel better and being such a good friend even though we've only known each other for a few weeks."

"No problem, that's what friends are for." I said smiling back at her.

When we finished with the dishes, Seth had to take me home because it was getting late.

It was a good day. But there was still that feeling of emptiness inside me. But why?


	6. Chapter 6: The Pain of Death

**It's been a while since I've updated but I've had writers block. I had planned to update on Valentine's Day but I had friends over so it didn't work out that well. Thanks to GalePercyHarry707 for being my second reviewer! :D**

**Chapter 6: The Pain of Death.**

_Gabriella's POV_

"I'm going to count to three and by then you better've given me back my phone or I'm going to murder your ass!" I threatened Asia who was now holding my phone trying to read my messages.

"Aww come on Gab! I just wanna see what you and Seth text each other, it's not that bad." She replied.

"Ok, one, THREE!" I said right before I lunged at her.

I pinned her face down to the ground.

"OWWWW! Whatever happened to two? And get off me, you're heavier than I thought you would be." She whined.

"Try lifting some weights sometime. That way you won't be so weak." I snapped as I grabbed my phone out of her bony little fingers.

I stood up and smiled innocently at her as she got up and fixed her clothes, wiping the dust away.

"I really hate you sometimes." She huffed while throwing me a dirty look.

"Of course you do." I said winking at her.

I plopped down onto the couch just as my phone beeped. It was a text message from Seth.

"_Hey, meet me on first beach in 15mins. Don't make me wait too long. ;)"_

I smiled at his message and replied:

"_K, I'll be there as soon as I can."_

With that in mind I rushed up the stairs and ended up bumping into Jilliane who was examining herself in the mirror.

"Move squirt." I smirked at her while ruffling her hair.

"GAB!" she whined. "It took me ages to get my hair like this and you just ruined it." She said glaring at me. Was I not getting along with my sisters today or what?

"Aww, who's the lucky guy you're trying to impress?" I teased.

"Nobody!" she said a bit too quickly. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Ok fine, I'll tell you. But you have to promise NOT to tell ANYBODY."

"Ok, ok. I promise."

"It's this guy I met while we were in Port Angeles. He told me he was from Forks which isn't that far from La Push so he gave me his number. Am I doing a bad thing? I'm supposed to meet him at the Clearwater Supply Store."

"Nah, I had my first crush when I was around your age. Just take things easy all right?"

"Ok, well I better go."

"Have fun!" I yelled at her as she went out the door.

I sighed. "Young love."

I walked into my room when I noticed the time. SHIT! I had to meet Seth in less than five minutes. I grabbed my keys of my desk and was about to run out the door when someone grabbed my wrist. I turned around to see none other than Josh holding my wrist.

"Uggh! What do you want from me?" I yelled at him.

"Jeez, I was just going to ask you where you were going. Take a chill pill."

"Well for your information, I'm going to meet Seth down in First Beach. I'm running late so if you could get it into your non-existent brain to let me go I'll be on my way."

"You know Gab, you're the nicest sister EVER!" he said in a fake girly voice. "Not." He said in his normal tone. But he let go of my wrist so I ran out the door.

I made it to first beach just but I was out of breath so I dropped onto the sand and took a moment to catch my breath.

"Tired are we?" Seth asked as he came to sit beside me.

"Yeah... I ran... All the way... Here." I said still out of breath.

He lifted me up onto his lap and cradled me to his chest. Usually I would've enjoyed this but Seth was unnaturally warm, like he was running a fever. So I touched his forehead to see if he was sick.

"What are you doing?" he said chuckling at me.

"Are you sick? You're really warm, maybe I should take you home." I said worriedly.

"I feel fine Gab. I've just been feeling weird ever since I woke up this morning, like I'm ready to crawl out of my skin."

"I know what you mean. For the past few weeks I've had this feeling like something's tugging on my spine. It's annoying."

We lay down on the sand holding each other. It was nice and peaceful and I was just about to fall asleep when my phone rang ruining it.

"Uggh." I said getting up to see who ruined my peaceful moment with Seth.

"Hello." I said into the phone.

"Gab this is Leah. Take Seth to the hospital NOW!" she said urgently and it sounded like she was crying aswell.

"Ok, we're on our way."

I grabbed Seth's hand and led him to his car.

He grabbed my shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he said a look of concern on his face.

"I don't know, Leah just told me to take you to the hospital. It sounded like she was crying to."

With that being said we both rushed into his car and drove to the hospital at top speed.

We ran out of the car and into the hospital building where a man was standing outside waiting for us.

"Sam? What's he doing here?" Seth muttered to himself but I still heard.

"Sam? As in Sam Uley? The one who dumped Leah for your cousin Emily?"

"Yeah, he's the leader of the La Push gang."

We walked up to him and I shrunk into Seth's side. He was HUGE and I felt intimidated standing near him.

"Seth, I'm so sorry." He said with a look of sorrow in his features.

"What happened?" Seth said urgently.

"Your dad had a heart attack." He replied.

"WHAT?" He screamed so loudly that it made me jump.

"Gab," he said turning to me. "I need to go." He said pain evident in his face.

"Go, I understand. I'm right here if you need me. I'll just call my parents to let them know what happened." I assured him.

He nodded and rushed into the hospital.

"You should get inside." Sam said turning to me.

I nodded at him and followed the direction Seth had walked in. I went to the floor the nurse had told me to go to and when I stepped out of the elevator, I saw that it was crowded. I also noticed that the guy we had bumped into a few weeks ago was there and as soon as he noticed I was there a huge grin appeared on his face.

I bowed my head down and walked to one of the empty seats. I remembered I had to call my parents so I dialled our house number and Danny picked up.

"Danny, get to the hospital NOW. Harry Clearwater had a heart attack." I said into the phone.

"Ok, I'll get them now." Was the response I got from the other end.

I noticed that there were four other people in the hall. And they were all boys. Every single one. Gulp.

"So, you're Seth's girlfriend, correct?" asked one of them. "I'm Jacob, this is Jared, he said pointing to a guy with huge muscles, Paul, he said pointing to another guy sitting beside Jared, and I'm aware you already know Embry." He said.

"Uh, yeah, me and Seth bumped into him when we were on a date. He was with a girl. I'm Gabriella." I said introducing myself. I saw Embry wince slightly when I said he was with another girl. What the..?

"Gab!" Josh said as he came running in with only my parents.

My mom was in tears and my dad was doing his best to comfort her but it wasn't working.

"Where's Sue?" she asked in between her tears.

"I don't know. I came in with Seth but he disappeared as soon as he heard the news. I haven't seen Sue or Leah ever since I've been here." I explained.

"Honey, come on. Let's go down to the cafeteria and get you something to drink." He said rubbing her back soothingly. "We'll be back later, call me when you hear any more news."

When they left, Josh sat beside me in the empty seat by my side.

"This is my brother Josh." I said turning to the other four boys.

"Hey. Are you guys allergic to shirts or something?" he asked curiously as he eyed their bare chests.

I elbowed him for asking that and he elbowed me back harder. We both glared at each other.

"We were cliff diving when we heard about what happened. We rushed straight here so we didn't have time to grab shirts." Paul explained.

"But- ." he was about to say but I cut him off by elbowing him again.

"Drop it." I muttered silently to him so only the two of us could hear what I said.

"Fine." He huffed back at me.

Just then Seth and Leah came out just as soon as we heard someone screaming.

I walked up to Seth.

"What happened?" I asked him worriedly. A tear came down his pained face.

"He didn't make it." He said starting to cry. I hugged him and he buried his face into my neck. I heard Embry growl beside me but I didn't care. I only cared about comforting Seth right now.

"I'm sorry." I said sympathetically to him.

He started to shake and so did Leah. I got worried.

"Seth, what's wrong?" I asked him touching his arm but the shaking got worse until he was only a blur.

Jacob pushed me out of the way and dragged Seth out with Jared doing the same to Leah. Why were they shaking like that?

"I better go and check what's wrong." I said starting to walk away. But Embry grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Stay here. It's better for you to stay here. Jacob and Jared will handle them and Sam is bound to show up. I don't want you to get hurt." He explained to me.

I wanted to argue with him and tell him that Seth might need me but something in his expression told me not to argue.

Defeated, I said "Fine." Tears started to roll out of my eyes and before I knew it, Embry led me to a seat and cradled me in his lap.

I was too weak to try and fight back so I just cried in his chest. As I was crying I heard the most painful and agonizing howl I had ever heard. Goosebumps appeared on my arm and I held onto Embry tighter but he just tightened his grip on me and started humming to calm me down.

It was strange. Being with Embry made the tug on my spine disappear, almost as if it was never there in the first place. It was like the pull was trying to lead me to Embry and now that I was with him I was at peace. It felt so right to be in his arms. A little voice in my head told me that I was betraying Seth but I chose to ignore it because I was too tired. I noticed that Embry was also warm like Seth was when we were on the beach earlier on.

I looked up at him and he was staring right back at me.

"Are you sick?" I whispered to him.

"No. It's just a genetic condition some boys have on the rez. I'm one of those boys." He said chuckling lightly. "Go to sleep, you look tired. I'll wake you up when there's anymore news." And with that he started humming again.

I nodded at him and buried my face in the crook of his neck. I soon fell into a deep sleep after that. It was so peaceful.

Little did I know that after my life would get so complicated and I would have many problems to deal with.

**Please review and tell me what you think! Thanks! Xx**


	7. Chapter 7: Change

**Alright here's the next chapter! Oh and I just want to fix one little mistake I did in Chapter 4. It said that Embry didn't know Gabriella's name but at the end he does. Ignore that part and replace it with imprint. Sorry about that. And lastly I wanna thank Queen-of-Twilights for being my third reviewer! Just a heads up, when the writing is in italics it's either they're talking in wolf form or texting.**

**Chapter 7: Change.**

_Seth's POV_

Pain. It was suffocating me so much that I just wanted to crawl into a corner and die. But I thought about my family who were already suffering from my dad's death. I couldn't do that to them. I had to be strong for my mom and sister.

"_Seth, are you ok?" Jared asked._

"_Yeah, I'm just fine. My dad just died and to top it all off I just turned into a giant, furry beast." I answered sarcastically._

My thoughts drifted back to my dad. Why? Why would he do that us, his family? He was supposed to live longer, grow old with my mom and being surrounded with his grandchildren. He was supposed to be at my graduation. He was supposed to walk Leah down the aisle at her wedding and her over to her husband. Why would he be so selfish and just leave us without warning or saying his goodbyes?

I wanted to blame myself. If only I had stayed home with him and spent time with him. If only I could have been there with him during his last hours. If only. But I hadn't. And I would forever regret my mistake.

"_It wasn't your fault." Leah said silently beside me._

I just looked at her. She was thinking the same thing I was, if only she had been with him.

I couldn't deal with this. One good thing happens to me and it had to be replaced with a bad thing. The worst thing was the looks people would give me; I didn't want their sympathetic looks. I wondered how drastically my life had changed. One minute I had a happy life and the next a miserable one. I wondered if any of this would affect my relationship with Gabriella.

"_You have to stay away from her Seth. You're just a newly phased wolf; you can't be around people for awhile." Sam explained._

"_What? But what about my mom, she needs me and Leah."_

"_You can be around her but if you ever lose your temper get as far as possible away from her. You understand?"_

"_Yeah." _

I felt sorry for Leah, she had just gotten over Sam and now she had to spend loads of time with him and even share minds with him.

I heard Leah growl beside me as she heard my thought.

"_Sorry." I thought to her._

I felt a shimmer in the air, Jacob had just 'phased' as the called it.

"_Sam, Emily's just arrived. Go. Me and Jared will take care of them." He said._

"_Ok, I'll check in later. And when you've gotten them to phase back to their human form take them back to Emily's house."And with that he phased out._

I thought about my cousin Emily. We hadn't really talked after what she did to Leah, even though my dad always tried to convince us it wasn't Emily's fault. I had visited her once in the hospital when she had apparently gotten mauled by a bear. This gave me a thought...

"_Jared, was it Sam that did that to Emily's face?" I asked curious._

"_Uh, yeah." He answered uncomfortably. "But it was only because he was just a new wolf and had trouble controlling his phasing. Em had made him real made and he lost it." _

Poor Emily. That gave me the push to realize that it was probably best if I stayed away from Gabriella for a while. I didn't want to hurt her if I ever lost my temper and phased while she was near me.

Jacob snorted. _"Yeah, like Embry would let you hurt her." He thought._

_I looked at him confused. "Why would Embry do that?" _

"_Uh, nothing," He answered quickly. "He's just very... protective." _

I knew he was lying. But I didn't want to push my luck so I let the subject drop.

_Embry's POV_

Gabriella_._ That was her name. I had found out that day she saw me in my wolf form wandering around her back yard. Truth was I was keeping an eye on her. I hadn't seen her in about two weeks and I was desperate to be near her. Even if it meant stalking her or sleeping outside her window at night. Her breathing relaxed me. I had heard her laughing inside the house when she was all alone because her family had went to Port Angeles and she didn't want to go with them. Her laugh brought joy to my heart. I know what you're thinking, cheesy right?

The way she had touched my... It was the single most amazing feeling I had ever felt. She had talked to me like I was a person and she wasn't afraid to be near me. It was probably our imprint bond telling her not to be afraid. Her scent drove me insane and she looked beautiful even without wearing make-up. I was glad she wasn't one of those girls that always wore make-up, she didn't even need it anyway she was already naturally beautiful. She was simply wearing white shorts and a pink knitted sweater that fell off one shoulder and she still looked like she could be on the cover of a magazine. I had laughed when she couldn't think of a name to give me so she called me Wolfie.

When she led me to the grass to go and sit down beside her I couldn't stop myself and I placed my head on her lap. She kept on rubbing my fur soothingly and I was at peace. All the emptiness I had felt from being apart from her for so long vanished. We were having an amazing time with each other but then her family had to arrive so she had to leave.

I was hesitant about leaving her because I wasn't sure when I would see her again but she had promised me that she would see e again tomorrow so I let her go.

The next day I waited for her outside her garden and she came out at around 11 o'clock. But it was to tell me that she was spending the day with her boyfriend so she would have to cancel our plans together.

I hadn't wanted her to leave so I gave her my best puppy dog eyes and she finally caved in and stayed with me for half an hour until Seth came outside looking for her and she told me to run away. She said she wanted to keep me a secret, so no one else would know about us walking around in the woods together because they might thing that I was a danger to the town. I was fine with that; I didn't really want to see Seth. But only because he would be the one getting to hold MY imprint.

I wished I could talk to her in my human form and show her my true feelings for her. But Seth and Leah had apparently told her about the La Push 'gang' rumours and also about my reputation.

I never planned on her finding out about those simply because it was in my past and the gang thing wasn't even true. I hadn't even gone near a girl after Jasmine. Whenever I did she would turn demonic and smell badly so I would keep my distance. You could only imagine the number of heartbroken girls there was.

Anyway, ever since she found out about the rumours she wouldn't even go anywhere near me. And when she was forced to she would look anywhere but me. But I bet she noticed me staring at her, heck everyone did! She was where my eyes were constantly glued to. It hurt me to know that she didn't like me because I was madly in love with her.

But I had gotten my chance to be near her today. It was a very bittersweet day though. I felt guilty for being so happy when there was tragedy going on.

Harry, one of the tribe's elders, had passed away due to a heart attack and Leah and Seth just phased. But Gabriella was in my arms so I couldn't really complain. Her parents had come back after an hour and was now in the room with Sue trying to comfort her and making arrangements for Harry's funeral. Paul and Josh had gotten along after everyone left and was currently in the cafeteria eating their faces off.

Which left me and Gabriella all alone in the hallway. She was still sleeping in my arms and I was staring down at her angelic and peaceful face. Her head was leaning into the crook of my neck and her soft breathing was tickling her neck.

I wondered what would happen when Seth found out about imprinting and that I had imprinted on his girlfriend. Who would Gabriella choose if she had to? I felt like Jacob at the moment.

I just hoped that she picked me over Seth; I mean I was her soul mate after all.

I wondered what would happen whenever school started again. Would she be in any of my classes? What would she think of all the girls flirting with me? I really needed to relax nowadays.

Suddenly Gabriella started to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she jumped suddenly and stared at me.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily and yawned before she got off my lap. "I'm so sorry for falling asleep on your lap. I didn't mean to." She said apologetically.

"It's ok. I didn't really mind anyway."

"Is Seth or Leah back yet?"

I frowned. "No, why?"

"Just wondering, I'm really worried about Seth."

We sat in an awkward silence until I got an idea.

"Hey, wanna play 20 Questions?" I asked. It was my way of getting to know her.

She raised an eyebrow at me and was smiling smugly. "20 questions? Isn't that for people in kindergarten?"

"No! It's for all ages."

"Ok fine, but you start first. I still need to think of a question."

"Fine by me, so what's your full name?

"Full name?" she said before laughing.

"Uh yeah," I said answering her question."What's so funny about that?"

"I don't know. I find most things funny even if they're not. Anyway, it's Gabriella Marie Russo. What's yours?"

"Embry Mason Call. What do you think of wolves?"

"I think they're awesome! Wanna hear a joke?"

"Sure."

"Knock, knock."

"A knock- knock joke? Are you serious? And you say I'm the kindergarten."

"Just do it!"

"Ok fine, who's there?"

"Gabriella."

"Gabriella who?"

"Gabriella Russo." She answered before laughing. "Bad dum dum shh."

I couldn't help but laugh at her. It really was easy to make her laugh.

The laughter died down. "Now do you see what I mean?" she asked smiling.

"Yeah, I do."

"Ok, so it's my turn to ask a question. Are you afraid of wolves?"

I snorted. If only she knew. "Nope."

"Good."

"Have you ever seen one of the wolves that supposedly run around the woods?"

"Yep, I'm friends with one. But don't tell anybody."

"I won't."

"I don't know any more questions. Do you want me to just tell you some 'jokes'?" she asked using air quotations at the word jokes.

I chuckled. "Ok, go."

"What did the chicken say to the owl?"

"What?"

"Nothing because chickens can't speak."

"Where do you get these from?"

"It's a secret!" she said winking at me. "Ok, why did the pig cross the road?"

"Why?"

"To get to the other side!"

"Ok, I think you should stop."

"K."

"Come on, let's go down and get some food. I'm starving."

"Yeah, I am too."

I could imagine my life like this. When we were together in the future, just the two of us spending time with each other and having fun in each other's company.

Now if only I could convince her that she was meant to be with me.

**There ya go! Btw the jokes used in this chapter are ones that my best friends tell me all the time. I have to deal with it every day. Anyway I just wanted to let you know that in my mind Selena Gomez is Gabriella. I love Selena. And hopefully you guys know who Embry and Seth are because of twilight. Thanks, and please review! Xx**


	8. Chapter 8: What's An Imprint?

**Ok... I got 3 new reviews. Not one, not two but THREE! Thanks to lunalicious24601 and .Moony for getting me up to 6 reviews. I really appreciate it. And I know that I haven't updated for a while, but to say thank you for all the reviews I'm going to try and update more often. Let's say, maybe twice a week? So keep the reviews coming :) **

**Chapter 8: What's an imprint?**

_Gabriella's POV_

"Ok, you have to take three steps back and then shoot the ball in the net." Embry explained.

"Ok, got it. And you do realize I'm not five right?" I said rolling my eyes at him.

"Really I hadn't noticed."

"Embry, would you care to enlighten me with the reason as to why I chose to spend my day with you instead of my sister or possibly someone else?"

"Because I'm awesome and you know it." He said flashing me a wink.

"Embry, Embry, Embry. You really have to stop listening to your mom whenever she tells you that."

"Haha, very funny. Now go and shoot, well try to at least."

So I took three steps back, looked at my target and took my shot. Thankfully the ball went into the net.

I turned around to Embry and smirked at him.

"Lucky shot, take another shot."

"Fine, but you do know that I was on the basketball team back in my old high school right?"

He looked at me shocked. "Really?"

"No, but I just wanted to impress you." I said before we both burst out laughing.

"Go again." He said tossing me the ball. Well, more like firing.

I was just about to take another shot when Andrew came rushing out holding a big bag which looked like it was filled with gadgets.

"Gab! Look at what I got at that Science Fun Activity store in Port Angeles."

I faked a gasp and pretended to be interested. "Oh my gosh! What?"

"These cool night vision goggles and a flashlight that can withstand surface temperatures up to 395 degrees Fahrenheit."

"So, you need a flashlight on the sun?" I said sarcastically.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "The surface temperature of the sun is 9944.33 degrees. If you want it to hurt you gotta be accurate."

"Whatever, Mr. Smarty pants."

He shot me another dirty look before picking up the bag and stalking of inside the house to probably test out his new 'toys'. The dork.

"Hey," I said turning to Embry. "Do you want to go and walk into the woods? We can go and look for my wolf."

"Your wolf? Ever since when do you get a wolf?"

"Ever since it wandered into our backyard." I said raising my eyebrow at him.

"And you've called him yours ever since?"

"Yes Embry, keep up. Jeez, and I thought you were smart."

He gasped. "I am too smart; you're the one who's not very bright."

I gasped back at him. "I am too smart! I may not be book smart and read but I hollow them out and hide things in them."

"He chuckled at me. "Whatever, let's go."

"Ok, just let me go grab my jumper from my room."

We both ran upstairs to my room. My parents were at the Clearwaters trying to comfort Sue. Harry's funeral had been yesterday afternoon and Sue was taking it really hard. I mean who wouldn't?

I hadn't seen Seth or Leah since that day in the hospital. It was really killing me to not be able to talk to Seth or Leah. I wanted to comfort them and keep them company but my mom had told me to give them some space and she said she was sure that we would be talking again soon enough. Sue said the same thong when I called their house one night to ask if I could talk to Seth because he wasn't picking up his phone. Asia was allowed to go back to LA for her and her boyfriend's anniversary and Jilliane, Irish and Jasper were at some kid's house playing. It was nice to see that they had made some new friends.

I was just about to walk into my room when I heard a bang come from the coat closet down the hallway. I walked over to inspect it.

"Who's there?" I called out.

"Me and Josh." Danny replied.

"Why are you guys in there?"

"Because we love coat hangers." came Josh's sarcastic reply.

"You know, I was going to let you out but now I don't think I will."

"Aww come on Gab!"

"See ya!" I said going back to my room and grabbing my pink, striped, knitted sweater that was thick enough to hopefully keep me warm in the woods. Plus it matched the white vest, dark denim skinny jeans and grey knee high boots I was already wearing. I also grabbed my phone just in case.

"Let's go." I told Embry as soon as I put on the sweater.

We walked around the woods for a long time before I finally called out "WOLFIE! Where are you?"

Embry snorted beside me. "You named it Wolfie? That's such an original name."

"I know isn't it just? And aren't you cold? It isn't exactly warm out today." I said eyeing his green v-neck polo shirt and cut off shorts.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine. The cold doesn't really bother me."

"Yeah, I can see that." I said just as a cold wind passed through us sending shivers throughout my whole body.

"You cold?"

"Little bit."

Before I knew what was happening, Embry walked closer to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Uh, thanks."

"No problem Gab. Hey, do you wanna see something I found while I was patro- I mean walking around?"

"Sure."

He led me down a worn out path and we followed it until it ended at some bushes. When we walked through it though, the scene that lay before us was beautiful.

"Wow." I breathed out.

You could over the whole town from this spot. The beach was to the left and I could see some children running around, playing in the sea and making sandcastles. To the right was what seemed like the never ending forest of trees. The horizon was long and it was hard to tell the difference between the sea and the sky. The sun was just about to set which gave the sky a beautiful orangey-yellow colour which was spectacular.

"I better take you home before it gets dark out." Embry said gently, which snapped me out of my daydream.

"Yeah, I still have to cook dinner anyway."

He looked at me. "You cook for your family?"

"Well me, Danny, Josh and Asia take turns cooking. It's my turn tonight." I explained.

"Oh, what you cooking?" he said throwing me a smile which made my heart skip a beat. WAIT! Gabriella snap out of it! You've got a boyfriend Seth who really needs you now and you're doing this? What's wrong with you? And Embry's probably only trying to get into your pants anyway, remember about his reputation?

"Just a simple pasta recipe I learned from my grandma before she passed away. It's got pasta, tuna, corn and mayo. What about you? What are you having with your family tonight?"

He looked uncomfortable. "It's just me and my mom." He said with his eyes on the ground.

"Oh, where's your dad?"

"I never knew my dad. It's just been me and my mom ever since I was born." He said quietly.

"Oh, Em, I'm sorry. I didn't know." I said rubbing his arm soothingly.

"It's ok." He said smiling at me sadly.

"Maybe you and your mom could come over for dinner sometime. My parents would be ok with that." I suggested.

"Ok, thanks for the offer." He said going back to his normal self.

"We got back to my house and Embry said goodnight.

"Goodnight to you too Em." I said hugging him.

He hugged me tightly back and I felt like I never wanted to let go but I did anyway.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah sure." And with that he walked home.

It was strange how close me and Embry had gotten. I had hated him at first but now that I had gotten to know him a little bit better, he turned out to be an ok guy. But there was always that little voice in my head telling me that I was betraying Seth. But I was only friends with Embry. Nothing more. Right?

_Embry's POV_

I was happy with how close me and Gabriella had gotten over the past few days. She was starting to warm up to me and I spent every second I could with her. She was really sweet and kind. She also had a good sense of humour and she was always either smiling or laughing at random things and I couldn't help but join her when she did. I was falling for her. And fast.

I phased and found Jacob also on patrols tonight.

"_Hey dude." _

"_Hey Embry. How was your day with Gabriella?" he teased. _

"_Good. I'm falling for her bro. What am I going to do? She's still with Seth."_

"_Well she's your imprint. She's going to end up with you sooner or later. Just be patient."_

"_Imprint? What's an imprint? And what do you mean by Gabriella being your imprint Embry?" Seth asked as he also phased._

Uh oh.

**There ya go! And I also left a little cliff-hanger at the end for you guys 'cuz I'm so cruel ;) but I'll try and update soon so you guys won't have to wait too long. **

**And as always REVIEW! Thanks Xx **


	9. Chapter 9: School

**Ok, here's the next chapter! Oh and somehow it deleted the message when I said thanks to .Moony for reviewing but I'm going to do it again because you reviewed again so thank you and keep it up! :D And one more thing, I'm not pleased with the way I've been writing this story so I'm going to try and make it a bit better and longer to.**

**Chapter 9: School. **

_Embry's POV_

"Guys! Seriously, what's an imprint and why is Gabriella involved in it?" Seth asked annoyed that me and Jacob had gone silent and wouldn't answer him.

"Uh... I think you better ask Sam about that Seth." I answered silently.

"NO! I want YOU to tell me." He yelled.

I sighed. There was no point in trying to get out of this now. He would've found out eventually.

"Imprinting is like... when you see her, everything changes. It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like... gravity moves suddenly. It's not the earth holding you here anymore, it's her. You would do anything for her... Be anything for her. Whether that's a brother, friend, lover or protector." I explained and as I was saying those words I couldn't help but think of Gabriella.

"OK... But what has this got to do with Gabriella?" he asked still confused.

"God, you're slow." Jacob muttered.

"I...umm...kind of imprinted on Gabriella." I said sheepishly.

"WHAT?" he said furiously. "I just lost my dad and now I'm going to lose Gabriella? Why is everything bad happening to me? Why would you do this to me Embry?" he whispered the last sentence.

"I had no control over it... It just happens. That's why Sam dumped Leah, he imprinted on Emily."

"Does this mean I can't be with Gab anymore?" he asked sadly. I could feel his pain and I felt guilty but I couldn't do anything about it. I already loved Gabriella and there was no going back now.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could say I regret it but I don't. But hey, I'm sure you'll find your own soulmate one day." I reassured him.

"Yeah... I'm going to head back home. I just wanted to see what was up anyway. Bye." And with that he left.

I groaned. Why was this seriously happening to me? ME of all people. What did I ever do that was so bad that the earth wanted to punish me? Sure I was a player but I had stopped and I was now regretting my mistakes. I wish I had waited until I met Gabriella. But that was something that I would have to get over.

"Sorry bro. But I think you should tell Sam and then go talk to Seth about it. The pack really doesn't need another love triangle; we've already got the Emily-Sam-Leah pain-fest." Jacob thought.

"Yeah, and school's starting tomorrow and that doesn't make things any better. But at least I can see Gab more often."

"Yeah, but how are you going to get rid of all the girls going after you? I mean, you do have a reputation around here." He reminded.

I groaned. I had forgotten about all that. But it helped me just a little bit to know that their faces would all be blurry to me.

"I don't know but I'll find a way. I'm friends with Gabriella now; I don't want to lose her just because of some stupid mistakes I made in the past. Let's go do patrol. I just want to get this night over with and we've got school starting up again tomorrow."

We both groaned and started running in the opposite directions. This was going to be a long night.

_Gabriella's POV_

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Ugh. It couldn't already be time for me to get up. It seemed like the summer just flew by and I missed it. Nevertheless, I had to say this summer was probably the most eventful summer I've had in my whole life.

I rolled over in my bed and looked at the small clock on my bedside table. It read _6:00. _I debated whether to get up or just stay in bed for five more minutes but I remembered that everyone would be fighting to use the one and only bathroom so I got up and turned on the light. I walked over to Asia's bed across the room.

"Asia!" I said shaking her shoulders to try and get her up. "It's six and we have to get ready for school so get up now."

She groaned. "Just five more minutes, mom."

"No! And for your information I'm Gabriella, stupid."

"Fine! Go get a shower and I'll get up when you're finished."

"Ok. But you better get up." But I was doubtful that she would.

I grabbed my wash bag, towel and robe and made my way to the bathroom. It was a cold autumn day so I turned on the hot water full blast and waited for the bathroom to get steamy so it was warm. I locked the door and climbed under the warm water which felt so good on my skin.

When I climbed out, I got my moisturiser and spread it all over my body. I knew that Seth and Embry would both be in school today so I wanted to look good. _Oh please! You only want to look good for Embry, NOT Seth. _Said that annoying little voice in my head. But deep down I knew it was right and I suddenly felt guilty. Seth was my boyfriend and NOT Embry. What was wrong with me anymore?

I walked out of the bathroom and back into my bedroom to get changed. Asia was already fast asleep again. I knew it! She wouldn't wake up so I decided to leave her be. It wouldn't be my fault if she woke up late.

I opened the door to the closet and wondered what to wear. After mentally arguing with myself I finally decided to go with dark blue skinny jeans, a white top that had a cute smiley face on it and my blue converse. I blow dried my hair and put it into a messy, loose side ponytail with strands sticking out. I didn't bother with make-up and put on my dork glasses for fun. I usually put them on for my school back in LA and I was going to do it here aswell. When I was happy with my look, I looked over at the clock and saw that it was only quarter to seven. I took my iPod from my small table and put the volume to its highest and put on some rock music. I then out the iPod next to Asia's ear and played it.

"OWW!" She said falling out of bed. "What was that for?"

"Well you wouldn't get up so I just HAD to do that." I heard the shuffling of feet and realized that everyone had been woken up by the loud music.

"You better get u now or you'll never get the bathroom until we have to leave." I warned.

I walked down the stairs and the smell of sausages and bacon filled my nose and made my mouth start to water. I rushed to the dining room where my mom was just setting down a huge plate of sausages, bacon and toast down in the centre of our huge table. Sue had finally taught my parents some simple recipes and they were able to cook us some decent food now.

"Hey honey. Come and get some breakfast before you leave for school." My mom said, smiling brightly at me.

She handed me a plate and I sat down before grabbing a sausage, two pieces of bacon and a slice of buttered toast before digging into my food. Everyone started to come downstairs just as I was finishing up. I looked at my phone and saw that it was already half past seven. We had to leave at eight and I still needed to get my stuff ready.

"Morning dork." Josh teased, smirking a little.

"Haha, you're so funny." I said sarcastically.

"I know, isn't he just?" Asia grumbled from the table. She seemed to be in a bad mood.

"What happened to you?" Danny asked her.

"Nothing." She snapped at him.

All seven of us looked at each other and mouthed _boyfriend problems._ I suddenly snorted and Asia whipped her head round in my direction.

"What's so funny?" she said glaring at me.

"Umm, nothing." I replied quickly before going upstairs to brush my teeth and grab my bag.

At around five to eight I finally finished getting ready and I went downstairs to see Irish and Jasper fighting over the remote.

"You've already watched your cartoons, so it's MY turn now." Irish yelled.

"So? You always do this to me, you're being unfair. Gabby, tell her she's being unfair!" Jasper whined turning to me with a pouty face.

"Gabriella's not going to fall for that you idiot! Now give me the remote!" Irish yelled again and they ended up pulling at the remote until it shot out of their hands and was flying in my direction.

"WHOA!" I said just about missing the remote and watching it smash into the wall. Thankfully it didn't smash into pieces.

"Turn the TV off. We have to leave now anyway and you guys can get back to watching later."

"Fine." They both groaned at me.

"Kids! Come on we're leaving now, hurry up!" Dad yelled at us as he went out the door.

"Bye mom." I said as I waved at her and shooed Jasper and Irish out of the living room and into the car.

I was pretty nervous. All the kids here have known each other since they were little, and I was just a newbie. I was Quileute but not fully, my mom was from the nearby tribe called Makah. I just wish I had some old friends from when I was little but I only knew Seth and Embry. It was a shame that Leah was already out of school.

I was daydreaming while listening to a song called Breathe by Taylor Swift. I felt like it suited me right now because I remembered Rachel, Alex and Stevie going to school in LA without me. I was worried that I would get replaced but they had assured me that that would never happen. Oh well, I would just have to make new friends here while keeping in touch with them.

I was startled when Josh shook my shoulder.

"Gab! We're here. Now get out!" Josh grumbled.

"Whatever." I said as I climbed out of the backseat.

Me, Danny, Josh, Asia, Andrew, Jilliane and Irish all got out of the car.

"Bye kids! Have fun!" Dad told us as he drove away.

Jasper was being taken to a nursery not far from the high school. We all looked at each other and huddled into a circle.

Quileute Tribal School was possibly the smallest school ever built. How did a thing this small even run?

"Ok, no matter what happens we stick together. That way we won't get lost or hurt or whatever. Got it?" All six heads nodded at me in return. "Ok then, let's go."

Danny was already graduated but mom and dad thought his grades were atrocious so they made him repeat senior year all over again. Sucks to be him.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a group of tall and buff boys and one girl standing together near two cars in the parking lot, which was filled with cars, all laughing and messing about.

"Hey, isn't that Seth?" Asia asked as she pointed over at them and I gasped.

I looked over to where she was pointing and spotted Seth in the crowd. Seth was out but he hadn't called me? I felt fury rise within me. Why wouldn't he call me? I was his girlfriend after all and didn't he even know that I was worried about him all this time? How could he be so selfish? Just then I noticed them all turn their heads to look at me. When Embry saw what everyone else was looking at, his grin grew even bigger than I thought was possible. But when Seth saw me I saw sadness fill his eyes. Embry was about to walk over to me but I just gave him a dirty look and stalked off.

"Let's go." I snapped at my siblings who were staring right back at them. They all turned their heads in my direction and followed me as I walked to reception.

When we got inside the, I saw the small office and a receptionist who was quite old and wearing possibly the thickest glasses ever made. I walked over to her.

"Umm, excuse me but we're the Russo kids. We're only starting today so could you tell us what to do?" I asked politely.

"Oh yes! The Russo kids, I have your timetables and notes here for each of you. Welcome to Quileute Tribal School. I know it's pretty small but you can easily get lost in this building. Here are your locker combinations and you have to get these passes signed in each class you attend and at the end of the day you have to come back here and give them to me." She said handing us each a folder with a bunch of notes inside.

"Ok, thank you." I said smiling at her. I turned to my siblings, "Do you guys know what to do?"

All I got was six head nodding. Jeez, what happened to people's tongues? I looked at my timetable then at Danny's since we were both seniors. I noticed that we had Chemistry, Algebra and History together.

"I'm going to look for my class. Josh, Jilliane do you wanna come with? Your classes are in the same way as mine." Asia asked them just as the bell went.

"Yeah sure." Josh replied.

"I'll drop Irish off in her class." Andrew said as they walked away which left me with Danny.

"What class do you have first?" I asked Danny.

"Technology, you?"

"English." I groaned.

"Gee Gab, I'm so jealous." He said, sarcasm filling his tone.

"I know, you should be. I mean what's better than writing about commas and other shit like that?"

He snorted. "Well I'm late so I'm gonna go."

"Ok, bye!" I yelled at him as we walked in the opposite directions.

I looked at the classroom from outside and it looked like class had already begun. I groaned. Why was this happening to me? I took a deep breath and turned the handle of the door.

As soon as I set foot inside the whole room silenced. All eyes turned to me and normally I would've felt self-conscious but I couldn't care less right now.

"Well, who are you? And why are you late?" Said an elderly woman sternly at me. Oh great, just what I needed so early on a Monday morning.

"I'm Gabriella Russo. One of the new pupils at the school." I replied.

"Well, Miss Russo the next time, try and come to class earlier unless you're looking for a detention." She said glaring at me. What was wrong with this bitch?

"Whatever." I muttered silently.

"What was that Miss Russo?"

"Nothing ma'am."

"You will be sitting next to Toby Gordon." She instructed.

"Ok, but you need to sign this for me first." I explained as I took the pass out of my shoulder bag.

"Very well." She said taking it out of my hand and signing it. "Mr Gordon, please raise your hand."

A boy with blue eyes and lightly tanned skin raised his hand. I walked over to him and I noticed that I was sitting behind Embry and the girl that he was with when I first met him. Jasmine I think her name was. Oh God help me.

"Hey, I'm Toby, as you know." He said holding out his hand.

"Gab." I said shaking his outstretched hand.

"What brought you to this little reservation?" he asked as the teacher started going on about punctuation.

"I don't know. I guess because my parents wanted to ruin my life." I replied.

He snorted. "Yeah, they tend to do that."

"Tell me about it." I muttered back.

"Excuse me, but do you have a problem Miss Russo?" she asked. "First you come late and now you are disturbing my class. Last chance and you get a detention next." She warned.

"Whatever." I answered. No way was she scaring me; I had already dealt with teachers like her back in LA.

"Ok class, as I was saying, you will be split into groups of two and you will have a project to do for World Book Day. The project is to write a short story of about 500-1,000 words long. Got it?"

The whole class groaned but answered yes.

Embry turned around to face me. "Hey Gab do you want to be my partner?"

"But Embry!" Jasmine whined. "I thought we could be partners." She whined. She was seriously annoying the hell out of me. How were people like her even aloud to exist?

Embry's face turned from being happy to being annoyed. "I never said anything to you about being partners."

"But my parents are out of town for the week. You could stay over for the week and we could share my bed of you want." She said, her voice turning taking on a flirty tone.

I couldn't help but snort at how desperate she sounded. She glared at me in return.

"And what's so funny?" she asked narrowing her eyes at me.

"Oh nothing, just laughing at how desperate you sounded." I replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was another slut in town." She remarked.

"I'm not a slut; last time I checked I wasn't being desperate with boys just to have sex with them. But if you're looking for one, look in the mirror but just be careful not crack it."

Embry and Toby both snorted at what I said.

"Whatever." She said. "Toby do you want to be my partner instead?"

"Fine." he answered.

"Then it's settled. Me and you are partners Gab." Embry said winking at me. I just raised an eyebrow at him but that didn't mean his wink didn't make me want to just melt in his arms.

"Whatever." I grumbled back at him.

Things were about to get PRETTY interesting here.

**There ya go! Phew, this was a long chapter. You're welcome ;) Remember to review! Thanks Xx **


	10. Chapter 10: Hurt

**Ok here's the next chapter! I got really depressed just thinking about what happened in this chapter. Why am I so emotional nowadays? Haha, anyway hope you enjoy! :D Just a quick note Twilightlover244 said that I copied a bit of a Wizards of Waverly Place episode. I know I did but that's because I was watching that episode as I wrote that chapter so I thought it would be funny to add it in but if it bothers anyone, tell me and I'll delete or replace it. And lastly the name 'Russo' is in this story for a reason. You'll see why later ;)**

**Chapter 10: Hurt. **

_Gabriella's POV_

I was relieved when the bell went for the end of English. The class was the most boring one ever and I had already made two new enemies. That was a record for me. I looked at my timetable and noticed that I had Algebra next but I didn't mind since I had it with Danny. The halls were crowded which was weird because this school was so small.

"Hey Gab! Wait up!" Embry called out after me as I was walking to Algebra.

"What do you want Embry?" I asked not even looking at him.

"I just wanted to ask what class you had next. That's all." He answered with a huge grin in his face.

"Algebra, Now go on off to your class and I'll go to mine."

"I would but you see I have Algebra with you aswell. In fact I have you in every single one of my classes." He said with a bright smile on his face.

"Great!" I said with fake happiness. "Just what I need."

"Aw come on Gab! You know you like it." He said throwing me a wink.

"Whatever keeps you happy Embry."

We got to the class just as the students were all piling inside the classroom. I saw Danny out of the corner of my eye sitting with none other than the she-devil, Jasmine. And there were no other seats left but beside Embry.

I looked at him and he had a hopeful look on his face as he patted the seat next to him.

"Fine, but only because I have to not because I want to." I said as I sat down.

The teacher walked through the door just then and he looked like the kind of teacher I got along with.

"Well, what is the name of this new girl sitting beside you Mr. Call?" he asked Embry.

"Gabriella Russo, sir. She moved to La Push from LA this summer." He answered.

"Oh, well come up here Miss Russo. Introduce yourself to the class." He said directly to me.

"Uh, I'd rather not." I said.

"Oh come on now! No need to be shy." He said encouraging me.

I got up hesitantly and walked slowly to the front of the classroom. I saw Embry smirking at me as I looked over at him with pleading eyes.

"So um, my name is Gabriella. And I'm eighteen years old. I'm part Quileute because my dad is and my mom is half Makah-Mexican." As I said this Embry looked over at me with a shocked expression in his face.

"And umm I think that's it...?" I said looking over at the teacher.

He chuckled at me, "Ok, you can take your seat now Miss Russo."

I walked over quickly to my seat and let out a sigh of relief.

"Well class, I think since it's just the start of school I'll give you a break and let you talk quietly to the person beside you. Note the person BESIDE you." He said emphasizing the word.

The whole class cheered. "But tomorrow we'll get started immediately."

I groaned but looked over at Embry.

"You're really part Quileute and Makah?" he asked.

"Yep. Why?"

"Because I'm part Makah too."

"Cool. So... anything to talk about?"

"Well, we never did get to finish our game of 20 Questions in the hospital."

"Well that's because you I told you all about my AMAZING jokes."

"Oh yeah, they were so funny." He said.

We both started laughing but I desperately wanted to ask him a question.

"My turn. When did Seth start coming out again?"

He suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Umm, just since yesterday."

"Yesterday? Why didn't he call me then? Didn't he know I was worried about him?"

"Do you want to talk about something else? Like our English project or something?"

"Sure. But do you know what class he's in? I need to talk to him."

"I dunno, sorry."

_Embry's POV_

"I dunno, sorry." I lied. Just then pain shot up my spine. I forgot it hurt imprinted shape-shifters to lie to their imprint.

"Oh." She said.

After that awkward conversation, we dropped the Seth issue and talked about random things while she told me some of her 'jokes'.

When it was finally lunch time, Gab said she needed to go to the toilet so I left her to go get some food in the cafeteria. Just as I was digging into my food I heard a loud and pained howl rise but only me and the pack heard it. I looked around the table and saw that Seth was missing. Oh no. I then scanned the room to see if I could spot Gabriella but I couldn't see her. SHIT!

I ran out of the cafeteria in inhuman speed and went to look for them praying that Gabriella wasn't hurt. Because if she was, blood would be spilt tonight.

_Seth's POV_

My head was aching and my heart felt like it was bleeding. I never meant to hurt her but I had to. She wasn't meant for me. She was meant for Embry. I just wish she could understand that one day.

-FLASHBACK-

_I walked over to Gabriella dreading what I was about to do. I never wanted to hurt her. But I had to do this or else I, Gabriella and Embry would all just get hurt. _

"_Gab, can I talk to you privately outside?" I asked her as she put books in her locker. _

"_Yeah, we have a lot to talk about. But I missed you." She said giving me a hug. "When did you get so big? I feel like so small now." she said laughing. _

_I forced laughter and hugged her back. This may be the last hug I would get from her and I would cherish every moment of it. When we were finished, I took her hand and led her out of the forest outside the school. _

"_What do we have to talk about? And why do you look so sad?" she asked. _

_I turned my back to her as I spoke, "I'm in love with someone else." I said _

"_What?" she whispered. _

"_I'm sorry. We have to break up, there's nothing left for us anymore. My love for you has disappeared ever since I saw her. That doesn't mean we can't be friends though." I said back. Tears were forming in my eyes as I heard a sob escape her throat. _

"_Is that why you haven't called me in ages? Because you were out with her? You went behind my back when you should've just told me the truth instead of me worrying about you every night. I just wasted my time with you. I truly loved you but I meant nothing to you. I wish I never met you and I wish I wasn't so stupid to believe you could actually truly love me like in fairytales. What was I thinking? I'm not a princess no matter how many times I wish I could be just so I wouldn't get my heart broken by you." She whispered heartbrokenly while starting to sob and sinking to the ground next to a tree. _

"_I'm sorry." Was all I could get out as I walked away from the first girl I had ever truly loved. _

_-_END FLASHBACK-

_Embry's POV_

When I got inside, I ran straight into the forest where I knew that they would be. I stood still for a few seconds to listen to my surroundings and sure enough I heard someone sobbing. I felt my heart hurt and I knew it would be Gabriella. I saw her sitting in a ball crying on the forest floor; she looked so broken.

"Gab..." I said holding her in my arms as she continued to sob into my chest. I rubbed her back soothingly but that didn't stop her heartbroken sobs.

"H-h-h-he l-l-eft m-e-e-e-e." She stuttered out. "He do-o-e-e-sn't l-o-o-o-ve me an-nym-or-r-r-re."

"Shh... It's alright. I'm here; nothing's going to hurt you anymore. I promise." I comforted her while kissing her forehead.

I held her in my arms as she cried her heart out and after about half an hour her cries died down until she was just gasping for breath.

"Do you want me to take you home?" I asked gently.

She just nodded her head in return. It killed me to see her like this, but I knew Seth only did this so she could be with me.

I picked her up in my arms and walked to where my car was parked in the school parking lot. When we broke through the trees, I saw Paul, Jared, Jacob and Leah standing with Danny, Josh and Asia outside the school building. As soon as they saw me, they all ran towards me her brothers ahead of everyone else.

"What happened to her?" Danny asked her urgently.

"Seth broke up with her; I saw her crying in the woods." I answered. I saw Leah look at me with Gabriella in my arms and her eyes were filled with sympathy.

"You guys go back inside; I'll take her home and explain to your parents what happened. I don't think she wants to speak about what happened right now." I explained. They all agreed but her siblings looked hesitant. "I'll take good care of her, I promise."

**I got really depressed while writing this, but oh well! It had to happen :D I've already got the next chapter ready but I won't post it just yet ;) So remember to review! Thanks Xx **


	11. Chapter 11: Embry

**Ok here's the next part! This is a lighter chapter so it can smooth out the depression from the last chapter :D Anyway, can anyone guess who I have in mind for Seth to imprint on? I'll PM you a preview of my next chapter if you guess correctly ;) Up for the challenge? Ok GO! Hahaha, I'm so weird... and btw lunalicious24601 I decided to post it today. ;D**

**Chapter 11: Embry.**

_Gabriella's POV_

I felt numb. How could he do this to me? And how could I do this to myself? All I could remember was Embry taking me home and laying me down on my bed as he said comforting words next to my ear while rubbing my hair soothingly.

He explained to my parents what had happened; well what he thought had happened because I hadn't told him anything apart from Seth breaking up with me. I was currently sitting on my bed listening to Last Kiss by Taylor Swift. Asia had called Rachel, Alex and Stevie when she got home from school and told them what happened and since then they hadn't stopped calling or texting me. I just wish they would all leave me alone.

I get that they cared about me but I needed some time alone, to just think things through and to get over... him. Thinking about him brought new tears to my eyes but I quickly wiped them away. I kept telling myself I was stronger than this and that I would not cry over some stupid boy who broke my heart because he thought he had found someone better. Well, it was his loss. But just because me and him weren't together anymore didn't mean that I was going to stop being friends with Leah. She was the only girl friend that I had here in La Push and I was not going to lose her.

I suddenly heard a knock on my door and my mom poked her head through.

"Honey, dinner is ready downstairs. But if you want I can bring it up here for you."

"I'm not hungry mom. I'm ok, but thanks for asking."

"Ok, but if you ever need someone to talk to I'm here, you know that right? I've been through this before too." When I nodded my head, she continued. "Good. Well I'm going down now ok."

"Ok." My phone suddenly beeped and I saw four new text messages and eleven missed. One from Rachel which said:

_Hey Gab, you ok. I'm worried about you. You haven't called back, but if you need to rest that's ok just call me back tomorrow. _

One from Stevie which said:

_Yo! If Danny and Josh need help beating up that idiot I'm ready with my baseball bat in hand. I got your back._

One from Alex which said:

_Cuz, I know what you're going through. I went through the same thing with Mason but its all ok now. It'll be ok for you too. Don't worry. Love you. Xx_

And one from... Embry? I never gave him my number. But it said:

_Hey Gab you ok? Your sister Asia gave me your number because I'm really worried about you. I didn't want to leave you alone but your mom said it would be best to give you some space to think. If you need anyone to talk to, I'm right here just call or text or if you want I can come to your house. Take care, Gab :) _

I was touched that Embry had texted me and it gave me butterflies in my stomach. GOD! Stop it! You just got your heart broken today and you're already getting butterflies from another guy? Wise up.

I then heard a small knock on my door and I yelled, "Come in!"

Jasper then walked through the door in his Spiderman pj's and walked up to my bed.

"Gabby, are you ok? I don't want you to cry, it makes me sad." He said with pouty lips.

I smiled at him and lifted him up onto my bed. "Yes I'm ok. I'm glad that I have people like you to cheer me up when I'm sad. Don't worry about me anymore. So how was your day in nursery?" I asked forcing a smile.

His eyes suddenly lit up. "I met a girl in school today." He said shyly.

"Oh really? What's her name?"

"Her name's Crystal. She's really pretty and she played with me in the sandbox along with my new friend Tom."

"Well it's good that you've made new friends already. I'm tired now so I'm going to sleep ok?"

"Ok, night-night!"

He ran out of the door and down the stairs.

I turned the light off and went to sleep hoping that I wouldn't dream about this day. But I had no such luck.

_I dreamt that I was running through the forest looking for Seth._

"_SETH! Where are you?"_

_I kept running and I eventually heard someone laughing. I followed the laugh that echoed all around me and then I saw him. Or rather them. _

_He had his arms around another girl but her back was to me so I couldn't see her face properly. I hid behind a tree and eavesdropped on their conversation. _

"_Don't worry, I'll leave her soon and then we can finally be together. I've waited so long for this and now it's finally about to happen." Seth said. _

"_Good, I don't think I can wait any longer for you. I just hope she understands one day. She's meant for Embry, not you." replied the mysterious girl, but her voice sounded very familiar. Was it...? No, it couldn't be. _

_Just then she turned around and I saw her face properly. NO! Why would she do this to me? How could she betray me? _

_Just then they both leaned into each other for a kiss...NO!_

I bolted upright in bed suddenly. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was only half two in the morning so I lay back down. What could my dream possibly mean? Was this supposed to happen in the distant future? I tried to shake the dream out of my head and went back to sleep.

The next day in school I felt down. I couldn't concentrate on our Chemistry lesson but thankfully the teacher left me alone. Embry kept trying to cheer me up but I wasn't in the mood. But I still thought it was sweet the way he tried to cheer me up no matter how many times I had told him to go away.

During lunch, I sat down with my siblings in a table. Everyone else was eating but I wasn't hungry so I didn't eat anything.

"Gab, are you hungry? I can go get you something to eat if you want?" Josh offered.

"No it's ok. I'm not hungry anyway." I replied as I continued to stare at the table.

"Did you know it's not healthy to not eat anything? You could get sick or worse; end up in hospital." Andrew said.

"Yeah!" They all chimed in.

"I appreciate you guys trying to help but I'm fine." I said. "I think I'm going to go out for some fresh air. I'll see you guys later." I said as I got up from the table and out of the noisy cafeteria.

I walked through the entrance and sat on the steps just outside the doors.

"Hey Gab." Said a voice which startled me.

I turned around and sure enough Embry was standing there holding an apple in his hand.

"You have to eat something Gab. It's not healthy to not eat." He said handing me the apple while taking a seat beside me.

"No thanks. If you've seen the way I eat, I only like to eat junk food, well unless my parents force me to eat something healthy."

He chuckled and reached into his bag. When he took his hand out, he was holding a chocolate bar. "Better?" he asked smirking at me.

"Much." I said taking it out of his hand.

I ripped it open and broke a piece off. I took Embry's hand and set it in his palm. "There ya go." I said smirking at him.

He chuckled as I ate the chocolate.

Just then the bell rang for the end of lunch. We both groaned and stood up.

"What class do we have now?" I asked.

"English."

"FUN!" I said with fake enthusiasm.

"I know, especially since we have a project due and you're my partner." He said winking at me.

I just rolled my eyes at him and shoved him as we both ran to class. I think with Embry here to cheer me up, I was going to be alright.

The week flew by and before I knew it, it was already Saturday. I woke up bright and early and decided to take a walk along First Beach. I got changed into some shorts, pink vest and multi coloured vest that was short and loose on me and some flip-flops. I packed a bag with a towel, extra clothes just in case and my iPod. I walked downstairs and saw my mom watching the news in the living room.

"Hey mom!" I greeted her.

"Hey honey, what brings you up so early?"

"Nothing, just decided to walk along First Beach that's all."

"Ok, be careful!" she called after me as I walked out of the door.

I felt like I was in a good mood today and skipped along to First Beach while listening to some Paramore. I sang and danced along and I may have looked like a weirdo to anyone who saw me but I couldn't care any less. It was part of my personality to not care what other people thought of me. I mean, they didn't know me so what right did they have to judge me?

When I got there, it was empty but I didn't mind; at least I would be free to do whatever. I leaned against a rock and listened to music while I looked at the peaceful looking surroundings on the beach. Just then I saw a person's shadow approach me and I looked up to see none other than Embry.

"Hello Miss Russo!" he said cheerfully.

"And why are you here?" I asked annoyed that my peaceful day was interrupted.

"Hi Embry, it's nice to see you too!" he said trying to copy my voice. I couldn't help but laugh at his failed attempt. "Why are you so grumpy?"

"Because you just interrupted my peaceful day at the beach ALONE." I grumbled.

"But you looked like a loner." He said.

"And?"

"You don't care what people think?"

"No. They don't know me so they shouldn't judge me." I answered simply.

"Is that your motto?"

"No, I don't really have one."

"Oh. Do you want to go in the water?"

"In this weather? I seriously worry about you sometimes."

"It's not that cold. Come on!"

"No!"

He stared at me with an evil look in his eyes. "You can go in the easy way or my way. Your choice."

I snorted. "There's no way I'm going in there. It looks freezing."

Suddenly he pulled my earphones out of my ears and picked me up. I squealed and tried to fight him and free myself but to no avail.

"Embry! Let me go, this isn't fair on me!"

"I gave you a choice, and you chose my way." He said smirking at me.

"NO!" I said as he threw me into the freezing cold water.

I rose up and saw him laughing.

"Oh so you want to play dirty?" I asked him. "I can handle it."

"Bring it."

And with that said we started to splash each other with water and push and shove. We did this until we were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. I pushed him once again.

"Race ya!" I shouted as I ran to get the towel out of my bag seeing as I was soaking wet.

"Hey! That's not fair!"

I made it back first and grabbed the towel. I wrapped myself in it just as the wind blew by and made me shiver. I suddenly felt warm arms wrap around me from behind. I turned my head round to see Embry smiling at me and I smiled back.

"Cold?"

"No Embry, I'm just shivering for no other reason." I said sarcastically.

"Can you go one day without being sarcastic to me?"

"Nope."

He chuckled and brought me down to the ground with him. I sat in his lap and he wrapped his arms around me as I did the same. I put my head on his chest and it seemed peaceful; like we were the only people on earth right now.

"Embry, why are you always so nice to me even though I was always mean to you at first?"

"Do you not like me being nice to you?"

"No! I was just wondering. Never mind."

"Gab, I wanna ask you a question."

"Ok, shoot!"

"I don't know if I should though..."

"Come on Embry! Don't be scared."

When he took a while to answer, I gave him pouty eyes and he sighed. But when he finally spoke I wished I hadn't asked.

"Gab... Will you go out with me?"

**And end chapter! Hahaha ;) So remember to guess who Seth's imprint is and I'll give you a preview of the next chapter. Oh and review, review, review! Thanks Xx **


	12. Chapter 12: Happy Memories

**Ok here's the next chapter! Sorry I haven't updated so long but I've gotten TONS of homework. But oh well! ;D Enjoy! **

**Chapter 12: Happy Memories. **

_Gabriella's POV_

I sat there, frozen in shock just staring at him with my mouth slightly open. It probably didn't look attractive but that wasn't my biggest problem at the moment.

"Gab...Will you go out with me?" he repeated after I just stared at him, but this time he sounded even more unsure than he had been before.

"Umm... I don't think that's the best idea right now Embry." I answered slowly, getting off his lap.

I had just been through a break-up not even a week ago and here's another boy asking me out! I like Embry... maybe even more than a friend but I just wasn't ready for another relationship right now; I wish he'd understand. I was still moping about Seth.

He looked disappointed at my answer but smiled at me anyway.

"Yeah, you're probably right." He said looking down at the ground as he got up to his feet.

"But, we could go out tonight. Just as friends...?" I suggested. At my question, his face brightened up immediately.

"Awesome! I heard that there was this theme park in Port Angeles that just opened. Wanna go?"

"Sounds like a plan." I reached into my bag and took out a piece of paper and pen. I wrote down my number onto it and handed it to him.

"What's this?" he asked confused, looking at the note I had just handed him.

"My number, so you can call me for tonight."

"Oh, yeah."

"So, what time suits you?"

"How about, say around five?"

"Should be enough time to get ready." I said checking my iPod and noticing that it was already half- past three. Jeez, the time had flown by; I only meant to be here for an hour.

"I should get going," I said. "My parents might be looking for me."

"Ok, I'll walk you home."

"You don't need to do that. " I said, blushing slightly. "We're seeing each other tonight anyway."

"But I want to." He insisted.

"Ok then." I said, giving in.

I packed up the stuff I had used and we started to walk in the direction of my house.

It was silent all the way home. Probably because there were a million thoughts in my head and I couldn't think of anything to talk about. What would I wear? Who else would he bring? Wait, Stop it! This is a FRIENDS thing remember?

I looked over at Embry and he glanced in my direction when he noticed me staring at him. I blushed and quickly looked away. But I wanted to look at his face again. I could spend hours doing it; he was handsome with high cheekbones, a good jaw structure, a perfect nose and the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen on anybody in my entire life.

"Here we are." He said stopping in front of my front door.

"Thanks for walking me." I said quietly.

"It was no problem."

I took the keys out of my bag and unlocked the door.

"I'll see you at five, Em."

"Sure Gab."

And with that I closed the door. I walked into the living room to find Jasper and Irish sitting on the floor making things out of Lego, Jilliane and Asia sitting on the sofa busy on their phones and Andrew, Josh and Danny were all playing Call of Duty on the big flat screen mom and dad had bought.

"Hey Gab, where you been?" Josh asked.

"Just at the beach with Embry." That seemed to get everyone's attention. Uh oh.

"Why were you with Embry?" Asia and Danny asked in unison.

"I was just walking and we bumped into each other."

They all exchanged looks I didn't understand before going back to what they were doing when I entered the room. But there was a tension in the room.

"Hey, where are mom and dad?" I asked Jilliane.

"I dunno, in the kitchen I think." She responded half-heartedly.

I got up and walked to the kitchen to see what my parents were up to.

"Hey." I said entering.

"Hey honey, how was your walk on the beach?" Mom asked curiously.

"Good, I bumped into Embry."

"Embry? Isn't he one of the guys rumoured to be a part of 'La Push gang'?" my dad asked.

"I don't believe in those rumours. Not anymore anyway."

"Ok..." mom responded, looking at me funnily.

"Oh and I'm going to the theme park with him at five tonight."

"As a date?" my dad questioned me.

"As friends." I said, emphasizing the last word.

"But-." My dad started to say but was interrupted by my mom.

"Just be back by eleven." She said giving my dad a dirty look.

With their consent, I ran up the stairs seeing as there was only an hour and a half until Embry would be picking me up. But I couldn't help but ask myself if I was doing the right thing. I mean, I did want to get over Seth but was this a little too early?

_No! Remember he left you for another girl. _A voice in my head shouted. But it was right. I needed to stop moping about him and start being happy again.

I went inside my room and grabbed my wash bag, towel and robe. I then walked to the bathroom and locked the door so no one would accidently walk in. I turned the warm water on and got into the shower. It felt good on my skin and it helped to calm down my nerves. I couldn't help but think that I had felt the same when I went on my first date with Seth. Would Embry break my heart just as Seth had? I tried to shake those thoughts off my head as I finished my shower.

I climbed out and went casual with ripped, denim shorts, grey t-shirt and black converse. I applied a light cover of foundation and black eyeliner as my make-up. I straightened my hair and put it into a high, messy ponytail. I didn't want to bring a bag with me to a theme park because of all the rides, so instead I just brought my phone, some money and keys. I looked at myself in the full length mirror and decided that I looked fine. I walked downstairs, where my family was watching a comedy called 'Shaolin Soccer'. I had watched the movie once and I had laughed my head off at it. Just as I was going to walk in, the doorbell rang. I looked at the clock and saw that it was five o'clock on the dot.

I took three deep breaths and went to open the door.

"Hey Embry." I said looking up at him. Oh god. He looked so hot...

"He smiled brightly at me, "Hey Gab. You ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah let me just say bye. Come on in."

"Thanks." He said stepping in.

Embry was wearing a tight green v-neck shirt and cut off shorts with black shoes. The shirt showed off his muscles and I knew it would be hard not to look at him all night. Shit.

I led him to where my family was.

"Mom," I called out. "Me and Embry are leaving now."

"Ok honey! Just be back by eleven." she called from the kitchen.

"So, where are you taking my sister?" Danny said trying to be intimidating but sadly, failed. Embry was taller than him and he only reached up to Embry's nose. I reached up to Embry's chin and I noticed that was quite tall for a girl.

"Just to the new theme park in Port Angeles." He answered politely.

"Ok, but you heard my mom. Have her back by eleven or there will be trouble." Josh added in.

"Oh my god you guys!" I said embarrassed. "Embry let's go!" I said grabbing his arm and leading him out. I said one last goodbye and walked out the door.

As soon as we got out, Embry started to laugh. "Your family is...unique."

I couldn't help but laugh at his words, "You can say that again."

We hopped into his black truck and he started the hour and a half long drive to Port Angeles.

I turned on his radio and Justin Bieber's 'Baby' was playing.

"Ugh," Embry groaned. "Turn that shit off!"

I faked a gasp at him. "You don't like Justin Bieber?"

"No! And I never will."

I smiled deviously at him and started to sing...

_Baby, baby, baby ohhh..._

_Baby, baby, baby nooo..._

_Thought you'd always be mine, mine..._

I burst at laughing and Embry joined in with me. We laughed, talked and sang along to the radio all the way there. At one point Selena Gomez's 'Who Says' came on and I had a little fangirl moment which made Embry laugh until he was clutching his stomach from laughter. It was a fun ride. He joined in when I started to sing VERY LOUDLY:

_Who says?_

_Who says you're not perfect?_

_Who says you're not worth it? _

_Who says you're the only one that's hurting? _

When we finally got there, it was to find that there were only a few people at the theme park. YES! It meant that we could ride on anything we wanted. We went to the entrance and I turned to Embry.

"I'm paying." I said matter-of-factually.

He stared at me in disbelief. "Uh, no! I'm paying and that's that." He said.

"Uh, no! I'm paying! You can pay for food or something later on."

He stared at me conflicted, and I gave him my best puppy-dog eyes. He let out a deep sigh and gave in.

"Fine."

"YES!" I said victoriously and jumped up high in the air which caused him to laugh at me.

"You're a strange child, you know that?"

"Yeah, I think my dad dropped me on the head when I was only a few months old."

I payed the entrance fee and we were given unlimited ride wristbands. I grabbed Embry's hand and we both ran to what we both had our eye on. The Space Shuttle. It was a massive rollercoaster which had loads of turns and loops in it.

We were waiting in line arguing over what we were going on next, when I saw him. With her.

I froze and stopped talking, and Embry followed my gaze. He looked back at me concerned and I forced a smile at him. He reached down and took my hand in his, squeezing it gently to know he was there for me. He really was sweet.

I couldn't help but be mad at him. Of all the people Seth would choose to go out with, he chose her? Why Jasmine? Why her of all the people he could go out with? And most importantly, why her over me?

I turned my back to Embry and faced the queue in front of me but Embry spun me around to face him. He looked me right in the yes, as if he was searching for something.

"Are you ok?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, smiling at him.

He frowned at me but let it go.

I decided that I would forget about them. I was out with Embry, NOT them. And I was going to enjoy it because Embry made me happy. I was already happy before we came out here anyways. I guess I just had to face the fact that Seth had forgotten all about me and was already moving on to the next one. I just wish my heart would understand it.

When we were called for the ride, I dragged Embry to the seats at the very front. We were buckled and soon, the ride was starting. We both screamed together as the ride went through loops and turns and finally, I felt dizzy. When we got off, I started to laugh, with Embry joining in the laughter.

We went on more rides, like the water ride, which made our clothes get soaked, and this one where it took you very high up and immediately dropped you onto the ground. We were having a good time and had decided to eat at the hot-dog stand near the rollercoaster.

"Ok, now you can pay." I said smirking at Embry who smirked at me back.

He bought me a hot dog because that's all I asked for but he bought... Well, it looked like he bought the whole stand. He bought four hot dogs, five fries and two large drinks.

I stared at him with my eyes wide open.

"What?" he asked as I watched him eat his last hot dog.

"How much can you eat?" I asked shocked.

"What can I say? I'm a growing boy."

I was just about to respond when I heard the last thing I wanted to hear.

"Embry! How nice to see you here!" Jasmine said approaching our table.

He turned and nodded in her direction.

"Ugh. What are you doing here?" she said looking at me in disgust.

"Nothing-." I was just starting when Embry interrupted.

"She's here with me if it wasn't obvious."

"Well, why her? You could've asked me." She pouted.

"But I don't like you." Embry answered before turning his back on her.

"But remember all the things we did before. When it was just you and me all alone in my bedroom." She said flirtatiously.

I was trying to keep my temper under control but I had had enough of her. I stood up and walked to the exit.

"Gab! Wait!" Embry called after me. But I ran to get away from him.

Why did nothing ever go right for me in this place? I wish I could go back to LA. Everything was perfect there. It's like when something finally goes good for me, someone somewhere says 'She looks happy, let's go fuck up her life'.

Embry finally caught up to me and grabbed my shoulders before spinning me around to face him.

"Please listen to me. There's nothing going on. I promise," he said sincerely.

I looked at his eyes and saw the honesty in them. I suddenly felt guilty.

"I'm sorry too. I had no right to be jealous. Besides, it's not like we're together or anything anyways."

"Yeah..." he said sounding somewhat sad.

"Can we go home? Or do you still want to go back?"

"No, it's alright. I'll take you home."

We walked to his truck and he started the long drive back to La Push. Unlike the fun ride we had on the way, silence filled the car this time. I leaned my head against the car window and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up just as we were passing the 'Welcome to La Push' sign. I suddenly had an idea.

"Embry, let's go to the beach."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "The beach?"

"Yes, the beach."

He looked unsure, but nevertheless drove us there. I hopped out of the car and walked to the sand. He followed my lead and we both sat down on a rock. The moon shone on the ocean like a spotlight and I couldn't help but think how peaceful and quiet it was here on the beach at night. It was such a beautiful sight before my eyes.

_Embry's POV_

Me and Gabriella were having a beautiful night together. Just the two of us. But then Seth just HAD to show up with none other than Jasmine. But we were over that.

She had asked me to take her to the beach so here we were. At the beach. At ten o'clock at night. All alone.

We strolled down the beach with her small, delicate, cold hand in my large, warm hand. I couldn't help but smile when her hand fit perfectly in mine. We truly were like two jigsaw puzzles meant for each other. I led her to the same rock where I had asked her out and she had said yes.

I looked at her beautiful face which looked like it was glowing in the moonlight. It was so quiet and peaceful here, like we were the only people existing on earth right now. I wrapped my arms from behind her and she took hold of my two hands in hers and joined our fingers together. It felt so right but she still remained a bit distant from me.

"Gab?"

"Yeah?"

She turned her head round in my direction and I stared into her eyes just as she was doing with me. I saw a mixture of pain, sadness, confusion and... Love? Did this mean she was falling for me?

I leaned forward and she did the same. Our lips were inches apart from each other's... until they met.

Our kiss felt like heaven. It was so sweet and gentle and just... perfect.

When we finally pulled back, I thought she would run away but instead she was smiling at me. So I smiled back.

"Let's get you home." I whispered.

"Ok."

_Gabriella's POV_

We kissed. We actually KISSED. I was afraid that he wouldn't like it but he was smiling so that must be a good sign. Right?

We were currently on the way back to my house. It was a short ride but it was filled with an awkward silence since neither of us were too afraid to bring the kiss up. When we arrived at my house, I looked at him. He was looking at me aswell.

He leaned in again and before I knew it, he had kissed me again. I stared at him and smiled.

"So... what does this make us?" I asked.

"I dunno, we can be whatever you want us to be. Just tell me so I'm not confused." He said smiling.

"Ok." I said getting out of the car. "See you tomorrow boyfriend." I said slamming the car door and winking at him.

I fumbled for my keys in my pocket and took them out. I pushed it into the key hole and saw the last person I expected to see in La Push.

"Alex?"

**There ya go! That gives a big clue on the question I asked in the last chapter. ;) Remember to review! Thanks Xx **


	13. Chapter 13: Meet the Pack

**Ok, I got new reviews and I'm really happy about it :) I have an important question for you guys, should I start writing a Jared/Kim story, Paul/ Rachel or Quil/Claire? And thanks to Twilightlover244 and ohmyfvck for reviewing the last chapter. BTW Here are some notes to clear things up a bit.**

**Seth didn't imprint on Jasmine just because they were together in the last chapter. **

**Gabriella's last name is Russo because her cousin is Alex Russo from Wizards of Waverly Place. But in my story, they are just normal people NOT wizards. **

**The mysterious girl from Gabriella's dream is going to be explained clearer in this chapter. **

**Gabriella is also part Mexican as well as being part Quileute and Makah.**

**Chapter 13: Meet the Pack.**

_Gabriella's POV_

"Alex?"

"Hey Gab!" she said running to hug me. "Do you not want me here or something?" she asked pulling back from our hug.

"No, it's not that. I'm just shocked to see that your here that's all." I explained.

"Oh, well Rachel and Stevie can't come here because their parents won't let them. It's a surprise for you because we heard about what happened and we came here to cheer you up."

"You came here for me?" I asked stunned.

"No, I came for your brother." She said sarcastically.

I hugged her unexpectedly. I can't believe I had friends that would go to La Push for me just because they wanted to cheer me up because my boyfriend broke my heart. But I couldn't help but be cautious of Alex.

"So... Asia tells me you were out with a boy." She said raising an eyebrow at me. "Would you care to explain as to who that boy is?"

"It's just my friend Embry." I sighed. I knew she would ask sooner or later.

"Friend or BOYfriend?"

"Yes Alex, he's a friend that's a boy."

"You know what I meant by that Gab. Don't keep secrets from me, or else I'll just find a clever way to get it out of you." She threatened, giving me a look.

I sighed. I knew she was telling the truth, she always did it back to me when I still lived in LA and she would mostly stay over for a few weeks because she preferred it in LA rather than in New York. She usually came with her brothers Justin and Max while her parents stayed in New York.

I led her upstairs to my bedroom. I opened the door carefully and fortunately it didn't creak; I didn't want to wake up Asia who shared the room with me. I only turned on the lamp that sat on my bedside table so as to not disturb Asia. But it was useless since I could hear her talking silently on the phone to her boyfriend.

"You have to share a bedroom with Asia?" Alex asked with eyes widened.

"I've gotten used to it. Well, it's not like I had a choice anyway." I answered. "Sit down."

We both sat down on my bed and I explained everything. From when I met Seth to when he broke up with me, up until I met Embry and he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes.

"That Seth dude is a jerk. After everything you did for him and he just dumps you for some stupid whore." She said annoyed. "But at least you've got Embry. Shame I didn't get to see him though. Is he hot?"

"Very." I said giggling like a little school girl.

"Ok, you are introducing him to me or I'll go to him. Your choice."

"Fine! But I'll ask him first."

"Fine! I'm going to get changed." She said picking up her bag and heading to the bathroom.

I also got changed into my pyjamas and waited for Alex to return from the bathroom. When she did, she hopped into my bed because we had to share it, and then turned off the lamp. I soon fell into a deep sleep. But only to find that I dreamt the same dream I had had a few nights ago.

_I was running through the forest looking for Seth._

"_SETH! Where are you?"_

_I kept running and I eventually heard someone laughing. I followed the laugh that echoed all around me and then I saw him. Or rather them. _

_He had his arms around another girl but her back was to me so I couldn't see her face properly. I hid behind a tree and eavesdropped on their conversation. _

"_Don't worry, I'll leave her soon and then we can finally be together. I've waited so long for this and now it's finally about to happen." Seth said. _

"_Good, I don't think I can wait any longer for you. I just hope she understands one day. She's meant for Embry, not you." replied the mysterious girl, but her voice sounded very familiar. Was it...? No, it couldn't be. _

_Just then she turned around and I saw her face properly. NO! Alex no! Why would she do this to me? How could she betray me? _

_Just then they both leaned into each other for a kiss...NO!_

I bolted upright in bed but had to immediately shield my eyes from the sunlight that was covering the entire room. I looked at my side and found that it was empty. Alex had already left. I sighed and got up from my bed.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and saw a tired looking me with messy hair looking back. I grabbed a brush from my table and combed out my messy hair. I then walked over to my closet and picked out some dark green skinny jeans, white vest, orange fishnet top and brown, wooden high heels. I put my hair into a quick bun and walked downstairs.

It was unusually quiet. What was going on? I walked in and only saw Alex and Asia with... Embry. Oh God help me.

"Umm, where's everybody else?" I asked to ease out the tension in the room I had walked into.

"They all went to Seattle early today. Me and Asia decided not to go. Good thing we didn't or you and Embry would be all alone and who knows what would've happened." Alex responded with an evil smirk on her lips.

I glared at her in return. "Well, we would've have just gone out to the beach or something. Unlike what's going on in your mind right now."

"Well, me and Alex will just be in the kitchen if you need us." Asia said pulling her in the direction of the kitchen.

"Who is she?" Embry asked when they had disappeared from our sight.

"My annoying cousin who came here to try and cheer me up." I said walking over to him and sitting beside him on the sofa.

He snorted. "She doesn't seem that bad."

"Wait until you get to meet her. Then you'll see what I'm talking about. Why are you here so early anyway?"

"I'm here because my friend Sam and his fiancée Emily want to meet you so I have to take you to their house for lunch later along with my other friends."

"I'd love to go, but I have to take Alex sightseeing or something like that."

"Bring her along; Emily will be fine with it. And that way you won't have to feel left out or uncomfortable." He said pulling me onto his lap.

I faced him and wrapped my arms around his neck before kissing him. It wasn't a rough or long one, just a short and sweet one like our first kiss on the beach last night.

When I pulled away, he was smiling brightly. I laughed at his expression and smiled back.

"So, will you please go? If you don't they'll just keep asking." He said pleadingly.

I sighed. I knew I wouldn't be able to resist him. "Fine, I'll go tell Alex."

We both got up and I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It was half eleven which meant it was almost lunch. Oh great. I led him to the kitchen where the two idiots were.

"Alex, you and me have to go to lunch at Emily's today." I announced when we stepped in.

"And who's Emily?" she asked confused.

"Embry's friend's fiancée." I answered.

"Well, it's free food. How could I say no to that." She said grinning. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Whatever, be ready in half an hour."

As usual, it took Alex longer than half an hour to get ready so we left the house at half twelve. Embry had also asked Asia to tag along but she declined his offer and said she would rather stay home.

Alex was wearing high-waisted shorts, a flower print vest that she had tucked into the shorts, a red sweater and blue converse.

"Took you long enough." I muttered as she walked down the stairs.

The ride to Emily was awkward since Alex was in-between me and Embry in his truck. No one dared to say a word but I kept sneaking glances at Embry as he did with me.

When we finally got there, I sighed in relief. I looked at Emily's house and smiled. It was a two-storey wooden house decorated with all sorts of flowers at the front steps. It had a very cosy feel to it.

Embry took my hand in his and we walked hand-in-hand to the house with Alex trailing behind us. I could hear voices chatting noisily from inside the house and prayed that it wouldn't be as awkward as I was thinking. But luck wasn't on my side today because as soon as the three of us walked in, the chatter died down. Everyone in the room stared at me and Alex and I shrunk beside Embry. Their eyes made me feel small and weak. I hated that feeling. Embry squeezed my hand in his and smiled gently at me.

"Emily! We're here." He called out. "Don't stare at Emily's face by the way." He warned me quietly.

"Why?" I asked. But my question was soon answered when a young woman who looked like she was in her 20's appeared in my sight and I had to hold back a shocked gasp.

She was beautiful. Or else what I could see from the one side of her face that was still perfect. But the other side was covered with three long scars that pulled her face down, making her smile look more like a grimace.

"Hi! Welcome to my home. It's nice to finally meet you; our Embry here hasn't stopped talking about you." She said hugging me. I blushed at her comment and Embry's russet coloured skin darkened a bit as well, showing that he hadn't expected her to say that.

"It's nice to meet you too." I said smiling back at her. "You have a lovely home."

"Thank you." She said smiling warmly. "She's a keeper." She whispered lowly to Embry and throwing him a wink. "And who's this?" she asked looking at Alex.

"I'm Gabriella's cousin Alex." Alex replied, introducing herself. "I hope I'm not causing too much bother."

"Oh don't be silly! I'm used to having many people here; trust me you're no bother at all." She said pulling Alex into a hug.

"Embry, go and sit them down." She ordered Embry.

"Sure, but what's for lunch?" he asked.

Emily let out a soft chuckle. "You'll find out once the food is laid on the table." And she walked back into the kitchen.

Embry led me and Alex to the big table filled with some familiar and unfamiliar faces. I spotted Leah staring at me in the sea of faces but I avoided her gaze. She reminded me too much of Seth.

Embry led me to a seat beside Jacob, who I had met in the hospital the day Harry died. Embry took the other seat next to me and Alex sat facing me.

"So, when did you and Embry get together?" Jacob asked me as everyone stared at me, awaiting my answer.

"Uh... last night." I said quietly.

There was a thick tension in the air as nobody said a word; just stared all around them. Well, that is until Emily came out with lunch.

I stared with wide eyes at all the food. It looked like a grand feast with all the food that was laid out. Could e really eat ALL of this food? Embry took one look at my expression and laughed.

"Can you guys really eat this much food?" I asked him with disbelief.

He chuckled and scooted his chair closer to mine. "Yep, this is the amount of food we eat daily."

"Jeez, and to think that the grocery store hasn't gone bankrupt yet." I said sarcastically caused Embry to laugh once more.

"Here," he said handing me a plate, "dig in."

I took the plate from his hands and took some food. It was delicious. How come Emily wasn't a famous worldwide chef by now? Judging from the amount of food the boys out onto their plate, they thought Emily was a good cook too.

"So what do you think of the food?" Emily asked, taking a bite of a potato from her plate of food.

"It's delicious! You should open up your own restaurant one day." I responded.

Everyone at the table laughed so me and Alex joined in. My laugh was more forced because I didn't know what was so funny about what I said. I looked at Embry confused but he just shook his head.

"That would be nice, but I prefer to cook for my boys from home." She said.

"It's nice of you to cook food for them."

"Yes well, cooking is a hobby of mine and eating is a hobby of theirs so we get along very well."

"Yeah, Emily is like our personal chef." A boy said. I think his name was Jared, his face was familiar.

"Embry have you introduced everyone to her?" Emily asked him.

"Uh..." Embry said, reddening.

Emily rolled her eyes at him. "Of course not."

"Gab, this is Jacob, Paul, his girlfriend Rachel, Jared, his girlfriend Kim, Leah, and that's Sam, Emily's fiancé." He said pointing to each person.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you. Even though I have seen some of you guys already." I said smiling at everyone. But I noticed one was missing. Seth.

"So when did you move here from LA?" the girl I believed to be called Rachel asked.

"During the summer." I replied.

"Oh, do you miss your friends back there?"

"Uh yeah I do. I miss Rachel and Stevie."

"You have a friend called Rachel too?" she said laughing. "This name is more common than I thought."

"Yeah, she's older than me by a month."

"Do you keep in contact with them?" the other girl Kim asked.

"Yeah, loads. I keep telling my parents I want to move back to LA but they won't." I noticed Embry stiffen as I said this. Apparently, he didn't like the idea of me moving back to LA.

"Oh, do you not like it here in La Push?"

"I do, it's really nice here and the people are friendly but... I grew up in LA so yeah..." I said drifting off and stabbing the leftover food on my plate.

"But you're part Quileute and Makah right? At least I think that's what Embry said." Jacob asked while Embry glared at him.

"Yeah, also Mexican like Alex." I said, acknowledging her.

"Yep. I'm part Mexican and Quileute and Makah and whatever else my dad is." She said grinning.

"Italian." I muttered to her.

Paul was just about to say something when suddenly the door flew open.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I-." Seth said but stopped as soon as he saw me. Gulp.

He walked over to the table and took the only seat left. Right next to Alex. Great! Just my luck. It was bad enough that he was here but now I had to sit facing him?

Nobody said a word as we all started eating again. I nudged Embry's knee and he looked over at me.

I gave him a look, pleading him to take me home but he didn't seem to get the message.

He leaned into my ear and whispered, "What?"

"I want to go home." I whispered back.

"But Emily still has to take dessert out!" He whined.

"Please." I said, pleading.

He sighed, "Fine." He said defeated.

"Don't pout; I'll make you some brownies if you want."

"You can bake?" he said a bit too loud.

I blushed and said lowly, "Yeah. My aunt used to teach me how to."

"Oh, what things do you bake?" Emily asked, sounding interested.

"Well, cupcakes, muffins, cakes and brownies. I can bake other stuff but not very well."

"I can teach you if you want." She offered.

"That would be great." I said giving her a small smile.

"Uh, well me, Gab and Alex actually have to go somewhere." Embry explained standing up.

"Oh, don't you have time for some chocolate cake?" Emily asked a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"Sorry, no. But I'll come back soon so you can teach me some recipes." I said.

"Yes. And Alex you're welcome to tag along so you can learn to."

Alex snorted, "Uh yeah. No thanks. I'm more of the eating type so I'll come when you guy are finished cooking. To test the food; you know just in case." Everyone laughed at her comment.

"Sure." Emily said still chuckling a bit. "Seth, come help me get some cake in the kitchen for them to bring home."

Seth stood up but Alex lost her balance right at that moment. Seth caught her just before she could hit the ground. They were staring at each other. No! Was my dream really going to come true?

To my relief, Alex looked annoyed at Seth and wriggled her arm free of his hold.

"Thanks." She muttered to him. But Seth still stared at her, looking somewhat dazed.

"Seth! Seth!" Emily said clicking her fingers in front of his face in order to get his attention.

"What? Oh right!" he said quickly walking to the kitchen, but not before looking back at Alex and smiling at her. Alex didn't smile back but simply turned her back to him.

Seth returned with Emily soon enough, holding a plate containing chocolate cake with cling film over the top. He handed it to Alex who took it out of his reach quickly and looking at me. She mouthed _let's go!_ I nodded my head at her and looked at Embry.

We said my goodbyes to everyone and Emily and Sam led us to the door.

"Thank you for lunch today and sorry for leaving so soon." I said to Emily.

"Don't worry, there's always a next time." She said giving me another hug.

"Yeah and I promise to stay longer next time." I assured her.

Embry held my hand as we walked out the door and to his truck with Alex walking ahead of us.

"What do you think of Emily?" he whispered.

"She's really nice. I like her already." I said smiling at her.

"You'll get to meet Kim and Rachel too. I'm sure you'll like them aswell."

"Yeah, they seem nice too."

We all climbed into the truck and headed to my house.

But I couldn't get what happened between Seth and Alex during lunch today out of my head. The way he looked at her... it was like the way Embry looked at me. What did it mean?

That part, I would have to find out.

**There ya go! Remember to keep reviewing my story! Thanks Xx **


	14. Chapter 14: The Pranksters

**I'm up to 18 reviews now! I know it's not much compared to others but I never thought I'd reach this many so thank you to every single one who's reviewed! :) Hope you guys enjoy! **

**Chapter 14: The Pranksters.**

_Gabriella's POV_

The ride home was silent. I guess it was because we were all lost in our own thoughts. I couldn't stop thinking about lunch at Emily's; Embry was probably thinking about how he wished he was there for the cake and Alex... Well I wasn't sure.

"So, what are you guys going to do now?" Embry asked, breaking the silence that loomed over the car.

I thought about for a while. What were we going to do now? Just then an idea came into mind.

I looked over at Alex, "Alex, do you remember the good old times back in LA?"

Thankfully she got what I was talking about. "Oh yes. You and I were experts at it."

"Experts at what?" Embry asked confused.

"Oh nothing, just this and that." I answered.

"Aw come on! I'm not a mind reader you know. Just tell me, please." He said pleadingly at me while giving me sad eyes. Damn, he knew I couldn't say no to him if he did that!

I sighed, "Fine. We used to play pranks on people back in LA."

"Pranks? But you're girls!" he said.

"And your point is?" Alex countered.

"Nothing, I just didn't think that girls played pranks on people." He said, shrugging.

"Well you thought wrong." Alex said. "But anyway, I've already got a prank in mind."

"And I know just the person to pull the prank on." I said with a devious smile. "Embry, can you take us to the Clearwater Supply Store?"

"Sure." He said before driving in the direction of the store.

"Ok, we need to get a fake spider, jelly, honey, whipped cream and chocolate."

Me and Embry both gave her a confused look. "For what?"

"Well, the spider, jelly, honey and whipped cream is for the prank and the chocolate is for me. Because I'm still hungry and that's what I'm craving." She explained.

When we walked inside the store, I saw Sue at the counter flipping through a newspaper looking very bored. I fiddled with my fingers uncomfortably. I hadn't talked to Sue or Leah since me and Seth had broken up.

Sue looked up and saw me. "Hey Gabriella, how've you been?"

"Good." I answered awkwardly.

"So, did you guys need anything?"

"Yeah, we need a fake spider, jelly, honey and whipped cream." Alex answered before she realised what she had said.

"For what?" Sue said, eyeing us suspiciously.

I glared at Alex, "Because we need it for a project."

"Yeah, an art project..." Embry added.

"Oh my god look there's the chocolate!" Alex squealed before running to the aisle, giving Sue a distraction and a chance for me and Embry to get away.

"That was a close one Alex! Be careful." I warned her as her eyes were scanning through all the different kinds of chocolate on the shelf.

"Fine, but we've got a bigger problem right now," she started to say, "Should we get the cookies and cream Hershey or the almond Hershey?"

I looked at her in disbelief, "Really? That's your problem?"

"Well, the cookies and cream one is-." she said before Embry cut her off.

"How about we get Galaxy cookie crumble instead?" he suggested.

"Oh my god, just pick one!" I said annoyed.

"Fine! I'll get the cookies and cream Hershey." She grumbled before picking it up.

"Now, let's split up to go look for what we need."

We all spread out through the aisles. I found the jelly and whipped cream while Embry found the honey and Alex found the fake spider. Sue had insisted on us not paying but I felt guilty so when she wasn't looking, I placed the money on the counter and left.

"Ok, Embry take us to Jasmine's house." I announced getting in the car.

He seemed reluctant on taking us there but nevertheless did it. Jasmine's house wasn't big but it wasn't small either. It was a two-storey rectangular structure with the white paint starting to fade and the front garden was littered with all sorts of things; sweet wrappers, empty cans of drinks and dead leaves.

I knocked on the door and a few seconds later, a middle-aged woman answered it. She was quite petite and I towered over her by a few inches, but the high heels I was wearing probably helped with that. She was wearing curlers in her hair and looked like she was in the middle of putting make-up on.

"Embry! How nice to see you here, but unfortunately Jasmine isn't home. Who are they?" she said only acknowledging Embry and glaring at me and Alex. Figures, now I knew where Jasmine got her attitude from. Like mother, like daughter.

"This is my girlfriend Gabriella," he said wrapping an arm around my waist, "and her cousin Alex."

"Oh, did you need anything." She asked.

"Well actually, Gabriella asked me to bring her here." He said unsurely.

"Yeah, we bumped into Jasmine's friends on the beach and asked us to put this in her room because they were too busy today." I explained.

"Oh, well come on in." She said gesturing us into the tiny hall. "Jasmine's room is at the end of the hall. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish getting ready for work."

I walked to the end of the hall and opened the door to her room. I wrinkled my nose in disgust when I saw the state the room was in. There were piles of clothes all over the place, make-up products lying around and shoes tangled with each other on the floor.

"Ugh, it's like a pigsty in here" I commented.

"Whatever, let's get the things set up before she comes home." Alex said digging into the plastic bag she was carrying.

Me and Embry stood there looking lost as she took the spider and put it under the pillow on the bed; the red jelly at the foot of the bed, and the whipped cream was spread onto a small piece of cling film and put at the side of the bed and the honey was mixed into one of Jasmine's hair products.

"There we go!" Alex stated, looking proud of herself.

Suddenly, we heard a car door slamming and rushed to the window. Jasmine was stepping out of a car, carrying about five or six plastic bags in one hand while talking on the phone in the other.

"Abort, abort!" I yelled, panic filling my tone.

We ran to the bathroom and one by one climbed out of the window, landing in the back garden. We walked carefully over to the gate and ran to Embry's car parked around the corner. We climbed in and high tailed it to my house. We all burst out laughing.

"That was a close one." Embry said, recovering from his laughter.

"You bet, but at least we got away." Alex said.

When we got to my house, I saw that my dad's car was parked at the front. They were back from Seattle.

"They're back." I stated while me and Alex climbed out of the car. I was just about to close the door when Embry stopped me.

"Gab, there's a bonfire tonight. You guys up for it?" he asked.

"Sure, what time?"

"Around seven but I'll pick you up at half six."

"Ok, we'll be ready by then." I said, leaning in to kiss him. He must've realized what I was about to do because he pulled me beside him and his lips met me halfway.

He was just about to deepen the kiss when Alex coughed behind us.

"If you guys haven't noticed, I'm right here." She remarked.

We separated, "I'll see you tonight." I said getting out.

We walked inside as Embry drove away and heard laughing. We looked at each other confused before stepping inside the living room. I stiffened immediately.

Sue was laughing with my parents about something while Leah was talking with Asia. But Seth was just sitting there silently by himself. He looked up and his face brightened up when he saw Alex with me. He smiled at her but Alex didn't return it.

"Oh, hey. Where have you guys been?" mom asked us, as we stood frozen at the doorway.

"Embry took us over to Emily's for lunch." I answered.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, they were all really nice. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go upstairs." I said, dragging Alex with me.

We entered my bedroom and I lay down on my bed, sighing heavily.

"Why is he here?" I said frustrated.

"Maybe, he's here to talk to you." Alex suggested sitting down on the bed and eating the chocolate she had bought earlier on.

"Well, I don't want to talk to him so he may as well leave."

"Come on Gab! Don't be down again and let's get ready for the bonfire tonight." She said forcing me to sit up on the bed.

I sighed, but knew she was right. It was already half five and Embry would be here soon.

I didn't want to change my entire outfit so I simply changed my heels for some boots and added a jacket so I wouldn't get cold.

It was currently quarter past six and I was in the bathroom applying some liquid eyeliner. Alex was in my room doing god knows what. I couldn't help but be curious of how she felt for Seth. I wasn't jealous, I had Embry but... I was worried that Seth might break her heart like he did with me. I mean, she took it real hard when her ex boyfriend mason broke up with her. It had taken more than two weeks to get her back to normal again and I just couldn't stand to see Alex so broken again.

I walked to my room after finishing up and saw Alex lying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

"Alex... can I ask you something?" I asked hesitant.

"Yeah sure, what is it?" she answered, sitting upright in bed.

"Do you... have any feeling for Seth?"

"Seth? Why should I have any feelings for him, I mean I haven't even talked to him yet." She asked confused.

"Nothing, it's just that I've seen the way he looks at you and... well I'm just saying be careful. I don't want you to fall in love with him and then he just dumps you for some other girl and breaks your heart."

She chuckled and walked over to me, "Please, after Mason I'm NEVER going to make that mistake again." She said, slinging her arms over my shoulders.

"Whatever." I said laughing and taking her arm off my shoulders.

Someone knocked on the door and I instantly knew that it was Embry. It was half past six and he was here to pick us up.

"Let's go." I said to Alex.

I opened the door and sure enough there was Embry, leaning against the wall.

"Hey." He said leaning in to give me a quick kiss. "You guys ready to go?"

"Yep." I replied.

"We'll be back by eleven, don't wait up!" I called out to anyone who was listening.

"Ok, honey." Dad said, appearing at the top of the stairs.

He eyed Embry and I knew that he was going to start asking question so I closed the door quickly. We all piled into Embry's truck and made our way to the bonfire. It turned out that it was at the cliff top and it was only going to be Emily and everyone else including the elders.

It felt nice to know that I would at least know the people who were attending and be able to talk to Emily again. Maybe I would even get to know Kim and Rachel.

When we got there, I could already see the flames coming from the fire and hear the laughter of people. I noticed Seth was here too. Great, just what I needed.

"Gabriella!" Emily called out to me before running over.

"Hey, nice to see you again." I said returning the hug. I already liked Emily; there was just something about her that made her so likable.

"This is Kim and Rachel." She said introducing the two girls that had followed Emily.

"Hi, I'm Rachel, Paul's girlfriend and sister of Jacob." She said shaking my hand.

"Hey, I'm Gab, Embry's girlfriend."

"Hey, I'm Kim... Jared's girlfriend." The other girl said shyly.

"Hey. By the way, this is my cousin Alex." I said

"Yep, cousin and partner in crime." Alex said shaking their hands as well.

"Well, we better go and eat before the boys finish all the food. Oh and Embry, Quil's here." Emily said.

"Quil?" Embry asked, obviously shocked.

"Yeah, we found out when you left." She said. "Well, let's go. He's excited to see you."

We all walked to the direction of the fire, Rachel and Kim walking over to Jared and Paul while Emily took Alex with her and sat down next to Sam.

"Embry!" a deep masculine voice called out.

Embry's head whipped round and his face broke out into a smile. "Quil, bro it's nice to see you."

"Yeah, haven't seen you in ages. Who are they?" he said looking at me and Alex.

"This is Gabriella, my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you. Be careful of Embry, he's a hard one to handle."

I laughed, "Don't worry; I've got him under my control." I said winking at Embry.

"Well, let's go and eat." Quil said, running to the bonfire.

"Have I told you, you look beautiful?" Embry whispered to me.

"Yeah, all the time." I said laughing.

"Well, how about sexy?"

I couldn't help but Laugh at his words. "Whatever, Embry."

We sat down next to Emily, Alex and Sam. I couldn't help but notice the look of sadness on Seth's face as he tried to make small talk with Leah who was sitting beside him. I felt sorry for him but I couldn't forget what he did to me so I looked away just as he looked over at me.

Everyone started to get food and my mouth dropped open when I saw the amount of food the guys ate.

Emily laughed at me, "They can eat even more than that, you know."

"Jeez, and I thought Alex could eat." I commented.

"I know! Compared to them, it feels like I don't eat anything." Alex said.

We laughed and talked all night but when Jacob's dad Billy cleared his throat, everyone stopped laughing and turned serious. Even the boys stopped eating and sat up straight.

"He's going to tell the legends of the tribe." Embry whispered as his arms snaked around my waist pulling me against him.

I thought that it would be quite boring but I was wrong. The histories of the tribe were actually fascinating. I wondered why my parents had never told us the stories. I loved how Billy told the stories with such emotion and passion. The hatred when he talked about the Cold Ones and the sadness when he talked about the third wife sacrificing herself for Taha Aki. I wondered if the stories could ever be true; about Quileute's being able to phase into wolves.

I began to fall sleepy and leaned my head back against Embry's chest. His arms made me feel warm and safe. I wished I could stay in them forever. I kept an eye on Alex and Seth all night but whenever Seth would come near her, Alex would walk the other direction. She was purposely avoiding him because of me.

That was the last thing I could remember before sleep consumed me.

**There ya go! Sorry for the long update, I've been busy. Remember to review. Thanks! Xx**


	15. Chapter 15: Imprint Number 2

**This chapter is more of a filler than anything but I promise to make the next one longer! This is just to let you guys inside Alex's mind and know how she's feeling about Seth. Hope you guys enjoy! :) **

**Chapter 15: Imprint Number 2**

_Alex's POV_

I knew I made the right decision. The decision to go to La Push and help cheer up my cousin Gabriella after her boyfriend Seth had cold-heartedly broken up with her because he was with another girl. I knew exactly how Gabriella felt because I had been the same position myself at one point in my life.

So here I was in La Push for a few weeks trying to make Gab smile but it seemed that my presence was unnecessary because Gabriella had already found a new boyfriend: Embry Call, I believe his name was. But I was happy for her, I could tell that he really made her happy and that was all I wanted for her. I just prayed that he wouldn't break her heart the same way Seth did.

But besides that, something strange had happened to me aswell. See, I had asked Gabriella if I could meet Embry on my first night here but she seemed reluctant to let me do so. I had finally got her to agree but she told me that she would ask him first. But it wasn't really needed since on my first morning here, Gab's family, excluding Asia, had went to Seattle for the day and the three of us were all alone in the house. I was just sitting watching TV with Asia when someone knocked on the door and I went to get it. I opened it to find none other than Embry looking for Gabriella. I had to say, she made a good pick; Embry was really handsome and he seemed like a sweet person.

I let him in and I was just about to wake Gabriella when I heard shuffling upstairs and knew that she was already up and would be coming downstairs anytime soon. When she finally got down, she seemed shocked to see Embry here so early. She wasn't the only one, mind you. I took it as a chance to tease her and was satisfied when she glared daggers at me. I was just about to say something else when Asia hauled me into the kitchen so Embry and Gab could get some private time. But I wasn't really the type of person to give people space so I tried to eavesdrop in on their conversation. I heard Embry ask her a question but his voice was muffled so I didn't quite hear the question. I suddenly heard footsteps approaching near the door and quickly backed away and tried to look casual.

Turns out that Embry had asked her to go for lunch at his fired Emily's house; Gabriella had agreed and asked if I could tag along. I said yes and quickly got changed out of my pyjamas. I couldn't deny Gabriella's offer because one: It was free food and two: What if Seth was there? That would just bring chaos to everybody so I had to make sure nothing bad happened.

Embry drove us over to Emily's house and Asia had stayed behind because she said she wasn't in the mood to go out. Everyone at Emily's house was welcoming but there were still some awkward silences along the way. But as soon as lunch came, we were all having a good time eating and talking but of course, Seth just had to arrive and ruin everything. I was especially annoyed when he looked at me weirdly for the first time and tried to make small talk with me. I mean, this guy had some fucking nerve!

Obviously, Gabriella felt uncomfortable and asked Embry if we could leave and Embry, being the good boyfriend he was, made up some excuse and we left. Along the way, Gabriella had the idea that we should pull a prank on some girl that got n her nerves and I readily agreed. I was pretty good at pranks anyway, if I do say so myself.

Embry drove us to a supply store and we collected all the things we needed, me picking up chocolate along the way. We went to the girl's house and Gabriella told me that her name was Jasmine. We were let in by jasmine's mother who was pretty rude but we tricked her easily enough. I set up the prank and we ended u having to sneak out the bathroom window because she suddenly arrived. I couldn't help but be please with myself; Jasmine wouldn't know what hit her.

When Embry dropped us off, he invited us to a bonfire that was taking place tonight and we agreed. When his car disappeared from our sight, we walked in to find none other than Seth and his family talking to Gabriella's family. Amazing luck right? Not.

I couldn't help but notice the way Seth's face brightening when he saw me but fortunately Gabriella took me upstairs.

She looked annoyed and I knew it was because of him. Why didn't he just get the fact that she didn't want him around? The stupid asshole. But a little voice in my mind told me that I did want him around. I tried not to think about it and pushed it to the back of my mind. Gabriella was more important to me than some stupid boy who I had barely met. I got her to stop feeling down and she was currently in the bathroom fixing her make-up or something.

I lay on the bed lost in my thoughts. I couldn't deny the fact that I was fascinated with Seth. He was pretty handsome anyway. But he always acted weirdly around me and would always smile at me whenever he caught my eye, to be honest it kind of creeped me out. Seriously, what was wrong with him? The way his face brightened up whenever I entered the room or the way he was always looking in my direction.

I couldn't help but feel guilty; I felt like I was betraying Gab by feeling this way about Seth, especially after what he had did to her. He really made her suffer when he broke her heart. Besides, I wasn't ready for another relationship right now. I had just recently gotten out of a year long relationship with a guy I thought was meant for me but turned out he was cheating on me.

I couldn't help but feel anger towards Mason. Why would he do this to me? Did he really live me or was our whole relationship a lie? I wondered most nights about how long he had been cheating on me for and if he ever regretted it. I never got the chance to ask him those questions because I hadn't talked to him since our break-up. He did call every now and then but I was still hurting and I couldn't deal with the pain of picking up the phone and hearing his pleading voice go on about how he was sorry and how he still loved me and had since the very first day. He wasn't sorry; he was sorry I found out. If he really did love me, why would he cause me all this pain to begin with? Anyway, I just wasn't ready to move on no matter how much I wanted to.

I was too scared to talk to Gab about it. I knew that if I asked, she would get the wrong idea and think that I like him. She might feel like I was betraying her and I didn't want her to lose her trust for me. I already knew she was keeping a close eye on me and Seth.

Jeez! I came here to get away from my problems back in New York and I come to La Push only to get new ones? I just couldn't get a break. I was usually the laidback type who didn't over think things too much but recently I was becoming the opposite. My life was just too crazy and hectic right now and I wanted nothing more than to just get away from it for a while.

My brother Justin had tried calling me several times but I ignored his calls. I knew that it would just be him telling me about his problems with his new girlfriend Juliet. My parents had forbidden them to be together because her parents also owned a sandwich shop and our parents were both rivals. I had enough problems of my own to deal with and I just didn't need any more. My parents had called me few times, asking how was I, or was I enjoying it here or if I was having a terrible time; you know, normal parent questions.

I really wanted things to just go back to normal soon. I think my brain would explode from all the thinking I had done. Wow, I never thought I'd hear myself say that; what has the world come to nowadays?

I wish my life would just get easier soon and that my mysterious problem with Seth would vanish. But hey, I was graduating soon. Just a few more months and I would be completely independent. Living by myself and making my own choices and decisions.

I just hoped I would make the right ones. Especially when it came to love.

**There you go! I know, it isn't that long but it was supposed to be short. Anyways, I've already got the next chapter planned ahead so it should be easy to write. But I've got tons of homework that I still need to do and I haven't started any of it so I might not be able to update for a few days. But we'll see! BTW Can anyone guess who's going to be starting the problems? Please review and thanks for reading! Xx**


	16. Chapter 16: Who Is He?

**Ok, here you go! I'm think I'm going to start writing a Jared/Kim story so watch out for it :) Enjoy!**

**Chapter 16: Who Is He? **

_Gabriella's POV_

I awoke with a start in bed. I looked around but it was still pretty early from what I could see through the window so I lay back down again. The side of my bed felt empty but warm and then I realised Alex was missing and there was a note beside my pillow. It was from Embry:

_Gab, _

_You fell asleep last night during the bonfire so I brought you home but somehow I fell asleep beside you and Alex slept downstairs. I heard your dad early coming in the morning so I left. I'll call you later because I have to go to work now._

_I love you,_

_Embry._

I couldn't help but smile at his note. Only Embry would sneak into bed with me and not get caught. I wondered where he worked; I never even knew he had a job. Guess I would just have to ask him about it later. Suddenly, my phone buzzed beside me and thinking it was Embry, I picked it up eagerly.

"Hey." I said nonchalantly into the phone.

"Gab! It's so good to know you haven't changed your number." came the reply.

I froze. No, it couldn't be him! Why would he even call me? The last time I talked to him, he was telling me that he never wanted to talk to me ever again and here he is calling me now?

"Ethan, what do you want?" I said coldly into the phone.

He sighed, "Look, I know I said some things that day but... I didn't mean any of it. I was just frustrated that you were leaving so soon and I only had little time left with you. Can't we work this out Gab? Please?"

"No! The last time you said you never wanted to talk to me again, that you regretted ever becoming my friend. I don't think it's a good idea to be calling me, don't call this number again. Got it?" I said as I hung up the phone, not even giving him a chance to speak.

I threw the phone angrily at the foot of my bed. How dare he think that I could just forget everything that happened between us and be friends again? He was sorely mistaken if he thought that was going to happen.

Ok, you guys are probably wondering what happened so here goes:

You see back in LA Alex, Rachel and Stevie were my best friends, but there was another that I avoided telling you about. Ethan Grey, my best friend since I was born at the hospital. Well now I guess ex best friend.

Our parents had become good friends and so had we. We only ever did talk out of school but still, our friendship was strong. We never became anything more than friends and that was that. You would think that we would've considering we were so close but I only thought of him as a brother; nothing more. So it was hard for me to say goodbye. I knew that he wouldn't take it lightly but I didn't expect him to say all those hateful words. He yelled at me and ran away before I even had a chance to speak to him. I hid my pain from everyone. I didn't want them to know that some boy had made me cry because they would think that we were together. And we weren't.

I sighed out of frustration and realized I had to keep quiet since Asia was still fast asleep on the other side of the bedroom. I checked the time and it read _7:30_. I forgot about the time difference back in LA and called Rachel and Stevie.

A few rings later, a very grumpy Stevie answered.

"What?" Stevie yelled through the phone.

"Well hello to you too." I said back.

"Gab? What the hell are you calling me for so early in the morning? You do realize that it's only half four in the morning right?"

"Sorry I forgot." I said not really caring, "Now onto more important things, you'll never guess who called me!"

"Who?" she asked sounding bored, "Rachel, get your ass out of bed!" she yelled in the back ground and I heard a thump followed by a groan.

"Ethan."

"What?" she screamed. "Why?"

"I don't know something about working things out."

"The fucking nerve of that guy!"

"I know! Get Rachel onto the phone, I need to talk to her ASAP."

"K, hold on a minute." She said before passing the phone down to her.

"Hello?" Rachel said sleepily into the phone a second later.

"Rach! Ethan called; I need you to talk to him about it and tell him to leave me alone." I said urgently into the phone.

"What? Ethan? Why the heck is he calling you?"

"He wants to work things out and be friends again, go talk to him about it today and tell him to leave me alone." I ordered.

"Fine, do you have school today?"

"No, staff day." I answered.

"Ok, I'll keep you updated. Now I gotta go, I HAVE school so I'm going back to bed."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I put the phone onto the bedside table and lay back down hoping to get more sleep but a few moments later someone knocked. Ugh, seriously?

"Who is it?" I called out, sleepy.

"Me." Danny said poking his head through the door. "Me, Josh and Alex are going hiking, you coming?"

"Alex? As in our cousin Alex?" I asked disbelievingly.

"I know, I couldn't believe it either. But hurry up and get changed if you wanna come because we're leaving in a few minutes, with or without you."

"Fine." I sighed, getting up.

After he left, I walked silently over to my closet to pick out some clothes. I grabbed an old t-shirt, a pair of jeans, a thick hoodie and my winter boots. When I was good to go, I walked downstairs where they were all waiting.

"Let's go." I said and we headed out the door.

"So, it's a miracle you're up." I said to Alex.

"I know, you're brothers wouldn't exactly let me not go." She said rolling her eyes at their backs.

"Aw come on. It's exercise." Josh said looking back at her.

"Josh, you know I hate exercise." Alex shot back.

"Oh well, you're up now." Danny joined in.

"I feel so sorry for you Gab, how do you live with them and not want to rip your heads off?" Alex said with fake sympathy while putting her hand on my shoulder.

"You have to live with it."

We all laughed and joked about the times we had back in LA. It made me feel sad; I really missed LA and all the good times we had back there. But I had to move on. I would get to visit soon anyway, hopefully that is. When Josh and Danny were ahead of us by a few feet, I took the opportunity to tell Alex about Ethan's call this morning.

"So... Ethan called." I said to her.

Her eyes went wide with shock, "What?"

"Yeah, this morning. He told me he wanted to be friends again and that he regretted saying what he said that day."

"What did you say?"

"I told him to leave me alone and I shoved all the mean things he told me in his face. I can't believe he expected me to forget everything that happened."

"What you gonna do about it? You're not actually thinking about forgiving the jerk are you?" she asked.

"No way in hell! I don't want to be friends again but I seriously doubt he'll leave me alone. He's so stubborn."

"More than you?" she said smirking.

"Nah, nobody can beat my stubbornness." I said.

We laughed when Josh called out, "Yo guys! Look at this!"

We ran over to where he was standing and saw what he was talking about. It was a large paw print, even larger than normal.

"Do you think it's a bear?" Alex asked, anxious.

"Possibly. It's huge!" Danny answered.

"Could it be a wolf?" I asked, remembering the huge wolf I had encountered a few weeks ago. Wolfie. I hadn't seen him in a while actually.

"Wolves aren't that big you know." Josh countered.

"I was just asking." I said.

I saw a sudden movement in the shadows. Then there was growl from behind which made all four of us freeze. We turned around slowly. To see eight big wolves. All standing there, staring at us closely and observantly. Oh shit.

I was about to panic when a certain wolf caught my eye. It looked familiar. Then I remembered who it was, Wolfie.

"Wolfie?" I asked, cautiously taking a step forward.

The wolf nodded its big head. I took a step closer to it and it did the same.

"Gabriella! What are you doing?" Alex hissed at me.

"It's ok. I know it." I reassured.

"Are you insane? They'll turn you into breakfast!" Danny warned. The wolves all growled at him.

"Shut up before I ask them to make YOU their breakfast." I snapped at him.

I stood before the wolf and stroked its fur. "How you been Wolfie? I haven't seen you anymore."

It leaned into my hand and I smiled warmly at it. I suddenly felt a tight grip on my wrist and noticed it was Alex pulling me away.

"Let's go!" she said.

I reluctantly followed her and waved bye at the wolf who stood there watching me. Well, us.

They ran like mad to the house and I struggled to keep up with them. They should know that if they did run after us we would get caught anyway. When we got inside the safety of the house, we were all panting and out of breath.

"What... the hell... did you... do... that for...?" I asked.

"To get away duh!" Josh answered.

"They could have attacked you, how could you be so stupid?" Danny added.

"I never thought I'd say this but, Gab they're right." Alex said.

"Right about what?" Asia asked, coming into the kitchen in her pyjamas.

"That it's stupid to go and talk to wolves that are bigger than us. And there were eight of them; Eight!" Josh exclaimed.

"You saw wolves?" Asia asked, shocked.

"Yeah, we were out hiking earlier on and we came across these gigantic paw prints. The next thing you know we turn around to see all eight of them staring at us." Alex explained, making weird movements with her hands.

"Hiking, that early in the morning? How did you get out of bed?" Asia asked her curious.

"We couldn't believe it either." I commented, rolling my eyes.

"I didn't exactly have a choice," she said glaring at Danny and Josh, "and I had actually had fun. Except when they came."

"Told you, you would." Josh said.

"Whatever." Alex snapped, "Onto more important things. Gabriella, would you care to tell your brothers and sister about the interesting phone call you received earlier on?" she said smirking.

"Phone call? From who?" Josh asked.

"Ethan Grey." Alex answered, before I could answer.

"WHAT?" All three yelled.

"Keep it down." I hissed.

"What did he say? Danny asked, looking frustrated.

"Nothing. It's none of your business anyway." I muttered as I stormed out of the kitchen and went upstairs to my room. I should've known Alex wouldn't keep it a secret.

Along the way, I bumped into my parents who looked like they were having an important discussion.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hey honey! We actually have to go somewhere with Andrew, Jilliane, Irish and Jasper, do you mind staying here until we get back? We promised to help Sue with the store today because Leah and Seth are away somewhere." My mom explained.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." I assured.

"Ok, but tell Asia to be careful of the kitchen. We don't want another repeat of what happened back in LA." My dad warned.

I laughed at the memory. Asia had been trying to cook spaghetti to try and impress this guy at school she had a massive crush on and had invited him over to dinner. She fell asleep and forgot all about it and the next you know the fire brigade is there firing water at the kitchen.

"I'll tell her that." I said laughing, my earlier anger forgotten.

I walked into my bedroom tired and lay down on my bed, putting my arms over my eyes.

"Tired?" A husky voice asked.

I shot up in fright and saw Embry standing in a corner staring at me. He had a smirk on his face.

"Embry! What are you doing here and why are you shirtless?" I questioned, eyeing his bare chest. Not that I minded it.

"I'm here to visit you." He replied, avoiding my other question.

I walked over to him and put my arms around him. I loved hugging him; he was so warm and made me feel safe and loved.

"Are you cheating on me?" I blurted out, staring at him.

"No, why would you think that?" he asked, looking shocked that I had asked him such a question.

"Well, it's just that you're shirtless in my room... How many girls' boyfriends do that?"

"It's part of my job." He answered simply.

"Well, are you a stripper or something?"

He gave me a sarcastic look, "Yeah, that's my job."

I rolled my eyes at him, "So, what is your job then?"

"Uh... I'm a protector of La Push." He said unsure of himself.

"Protectors?"

"Yeah, we protect people of La Push from dangers."

"Well, do you remember me telling you about the wolves that wander the forest? Do you ever see them?"

"Yeah... all the time."

"Don't you get scared?"

"Nah, they don't harm you. And anyway, it's against tribal law to kill or harm wolves."

"Good, because I'm friends with one of them."

"Are you?" he said smiling and placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Yeah, I gave him a name, Wolfie."

"That's an amazing name."

"I know so imaginative right?" I said sarcastically.

Just then a buzzing noise filled the room; it was my phone. Embry picked it up before I did and looked at the caller id.

"Who's Ethan?" he asked.

"Just my old friend back in LA. He keeps trying to call me but I don't want to talk to him."

"Good. I bet he's really stupid anyway." He remarked.

I frowned at him. What was he saying?

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. It's good that you're ignoring him anyway. Unless of course you're cheating on me that is."

"Please. He's not worth it."

"Yeah, I could beat his ass any day."

"But you're not going to."

"But if I did, would you care?" he asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"No." I said a bit too quickly.

"Yeah right. You still have feelings for him don't you?"

"No! None at all. Why are you asking me this anyway?"

"Because I want to know!"

I looked at him angrily. Why was he acting this way? He was my boyfriend, not Ethan. He was miles away and he was a part of my past.

"You don't have a right to."

He scoffed, "I'm your boyfriend. Of course I do!"

"So, if I asked you about Jasmine, you would reveal everything that went on between the two of you?" I questioned.

He visibly stiffened at my question.

"See, you don't want to reveal it do you?" I questioned angrily.

"I don't have time for this right now." He said and stormed out of my room. "Lock the door behind me."

"Gladly." I said coldly.

**HAHAHAHAHA! I had to make them fight, its part of the story. And for all those that hate Jasmine, you're going to hate her even more in the next chapter! Remember to review! Thanks Xx. **


	17. Chapter 17: Misunderstandings

**Ok here's the next part. My friend advised me to not start any stories yet so I might not start another fic just yet. This is really short but eventful and makes you hate Jasmine even more. Oh well, and enjoy! :) **

**Chapter 17: Misunderstandings. **

_Embry's POV_

I hated myself. Like seriously. Gabriella was my girlfriend, something that made me ecstatic and the happiest man alive, but then I had to go and be a fucktard and screw it up and argue with her over a silly little thing.

The past few weeks of my life had been the best and I didn't regret a single thing that had happened. They were all spent with Gabriella and she made me so happy. I was glad that she finally accepted our bond and said yes to being my girlfriend. The pack kept telling me to shut up about her but I couldn't; I was too happy. They were being hypocrites anyway, some of them had imprinted as well and they thought non-stop about their imprints too; it wasn't only me.

Being in the pack with Seth was awkward to say the least. My thoughts revolved around Gabriella and I could hear his thoughts and caught glimpses of their time together. It was even more awkward when it was just the two of us for patrol. I told Sam about it but he just told me to suck it up and act like a man. Easy for him to say, Emily didn't have to read Leah's mind. He heard me complain about it once and let's just say I didn't get much sleep for a week and I had to explain to my dearest mother why I was limping home. Gabriella was amazing. The more time I spent with her, the more I knew about her and fell in love with her.

But then, I had to be jealous over Gabriella's old friend back in LA calling her, even though she told me she didn't want to talk to him. How stupid could I get? Like seriously. She told me over and over but I hadn't listened. I was too consumed with jealousy. I had a LOT to make up for.

So I was sitting in class, early on a Tuesday morning waiting for her so I could apologize for what I did. I couldn't even begin to explain to her how sorry I was so I went and got her some gifts. I got her a card that said 'I'm sorry' in huge red letters on the front and a teddy bear with a cheesy saying. You could call me whipped but I didn't care; all I cared about was my girl forgiving me and being happy again. I longed to see her smile, to hear her voice. I tried calling her to apologize for what I did but she ignored my calls. I really wished she came soon; I was getting bored in class waiting for her.

Just then, Jasmine came in through the door. Oh great, now Gabriella was really going to kill me if she saw me here alone in the classroom with her. Just my luck.

"Hey Embry." She said, flirtatiously while batting her long, fake eyelashes at me. She made me wanna puke just at the sight of her, she was such a slut. What was I thinking when I asked her out? Paul must have fed me ecstasy or something for lunch that day.

I nodded in her direction and continued to ignore her no matter how many times she kept trying to flirt with me and get my attention. I couldn't care any less about her right now; she really was a clueless bitch.

She eyed the card and bear that was next to me and walked over to my table. I couldn't even see her face and her smell was revolting to me. I scooted my chair as far away from her as possible but she kept coming closer. Damn.

"So are those for me?" she asked.

"No, they're for my girlfriend Gabriella." I said emphasizing the word girlfriend.

"Oh." She said, looking disappointed.

She pulled the chair that was beside me and sat down.

"So, I haven't seen you in a while." She said, touching my hand. My skin burned wherever she touched it.

"Yeah." I said, not really paying attention. My mind kept wandering to Gabriella.

"So listen, Embry. I still love you. I want to have you back; all the other boys just aren't good enough for me." She said looking me in the eye.

"Well, that's too bad. I love Gabriella and I'm never leaving her." I said surely. Of course I wouldn't leave Gabriella; she was my soul mate duh!

"But I love you more than her. And she only makes you buy her gifts and stuff and she obviously argues with you all the time." She said eyeing the card. "Please Embry... take me back baby, please." She said pleadingly, taking both my hands in hers and looking me in the eye.

"Get off me!" I said, yanking her hands away and getting her to move away. She was so clingy who could stand her? I felt really sorry for her husband one day. I should give him a gun as a wedding present, and then maybe he could get away from the torture of being with her.

"Please Embry! Baby, come on. I know you still love me so why are you fighting me? There's no point in it! Just tell Gabriella to hit the road and we can head over to my place. You could even stay the night!"

"Jasmine, I'm not interested. Just leave me alone. I'm with Gabriella and I don't love you. Whoever told you that must be in a mental hospital by now."

Before I knew what was happening, her lips crashed against mine. She put her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her. I struggled to push her off. Jeez, this girl was strong. She was against a werewolf and I was struggling.

Just then, I heard a gasp near the doorway. Uh oh.

**Told you this was short! And I really hated Jasmine while writing this. Like it's not even funny how much. Oh well, let me hear your thoughts and remember to review! Thanks Xx**


	18. Chapter 18: Should've Said No

**Ok, so most of you hated Jasmine in the last chapter... but I can guarantee you'll hate her even more after you read this one and you realize she did more than just wreck Embry and Gabriella's relationship. Enjoy! :) **

**Chapter 18: Should've Said No.**

"_You should've said no, baby and you might still have me."_

_Should've Said No by Taylor Swift._

_Gabriella's POV_

I gasped. I had walked into the classroom to apologize to Embry for what happened yesterday... but I had walked into a completely different scene that I had imagined in my head. Sitting on Embry's lap was Jasmine and worst of all... they were kissing.

They both looked up when I walked in and Embry's eye went wide with horror. Probably horror that I caught what he was doing behind my back.

Jasmine had a devious smile on her face, "Is that your girlfriend?"

"Ex." I answered before running out of the building as fast as my legs would carry me.

I ran and kept on running. I couldn't face anyway and tears were starting to form around my eyes. I bumped into Toby along the way but I ran away before he could ask me what was wrong; I wasn't in the mood to explain what I just saw. I could hear Embry behind me running after me to try and explain what happened but I already knew; he was cheating on me with Jasmine. I ran into the forest but Embry eventually caught up with me.

He grabbed my wrists and spun me around but by then the tears had already started pouring down my face.

"Gab, please I can explain." He said pleadingly.

I wiped my tears with the back of my hand angrily, "Explain what? That you're cheating on me with Jasmine behind my back? I thought you loved me." I spat furiously at him.

"NO! That wasn't what was happening and I do love you. More than anything."

"Oh really? Because if you truly loved someone you wouldn't hurt them or cheat on them."

"Please, hear me out."

"Why? I already saw what happened with my own two eyes!"

"It isn't what it looks like! You walked in at the wrong time, please I can explain."

"No! Just leave me alone." I said, pulling away from his hold and running onto the road.

Why did he have to do this to me? Was this some kind of sick joke that he and Seth were playing on me? They made me fall in love with them and then crush my heart afterwards when they got tired of me? I didn't find it very funny if it was.

I was on the road walking home miserably in the freezing cold La Push weather when a car pulled up beside me. I turned my face away; if it was somebody I knew I didn't want them to see my now tear stained face.

"Gab? What are you doing here?" a familiar voice asked. I looked up to see none other than the face of Leah Clearwater. Great; just who I wanted to see. Not.

"I'm going home after I found out that my boyfriend was cheating on me with Jasmine." I answered before starting to walk again.

She climbed out of her car, pulled my arm and forced me to go inside the heat filled car. I knew that she was taking me home. She always knew what to do in situations like this. I tried to keep the tears from falling but it was no use. I was in too much pain. I heard the most heartbreaking howl come out of the forest that only made me cry harder.

"Shh..." Leah soothed, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly.

She pulled up outside my house and helped me climb out of the car. She supported me to the door because my balance wasn't at its best right now and knocked. A very sleepy Alex answered with my parents following closely behind. Their eyes all widened when they took in my situation. I probably looked like a mess.

"What happened?" Alex asked, looking shocked and worried.

"She caught Embry cheating on her with Jasmine." Leah explained.

"What? That jerk!" she exclaimed furiously.

She took me out of Leah's hold and led me upstairs to my room. Leah said she needed to be going back to school and left. My parents looked at me with worried expressions; probably because they knew that I had already gone through this with Seth and couldn't handle the misery I had gone through.

I fell back onto the bed and cried my heart out while Alex held me in her arms and whispered soothing words to me. I couldn't calm down. I felt like I was suffocating and couldn't breathe properly. Why did I overreact? I hadn't even been with Embry for that long but here I was thinking that my life was over without him in it. I had to be stronger; I had to stay strong. But how could I when I was feeling so broken inside? How could I force a smile when all I really wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry?

I couldn't help but think about how perfect my life was back in LA. I was outgoing and boys didn't matter much to me back there. But here in La Push it was a whole different story. I had to leave here; maybe just get away for while but I had to leave. I couldn't stay here anymore, in La Push where there were guys that left you for other girls or cheated on you with their ex girlfriends. I had gone through so much pain here than I ever had before in LA. That was where I belonged, that was where my heart belonged. So I made my mind up; I would go back to LA for a few months, just to clear my head and get things back on track. Then I would return to La Push, stronger than ever.

Just then, I heard a knock on the front door followed by some shouting. I immediately knew who it was. I lifted my head off Alex's shoulder and wiped away the dried up tears still left in my eyes. If I was going to talk to Embry, I was going to do it right.

I fixed my clothes and made my way downstairs with Alex right by my side. I could still hear my dad yelling at him and he was answering back, a desperate tone evident in his voice. He was here to talk to me; and he wasn't leaving until he did.

"Mom, dad, leave him be; just give me a few minutes to talk to him." I said. They look at me with worried expressions before hesitantly entering the living room and taking Alex along with them. I stared over at Embry. He was looking as heartbroken as ever and he was looking at me with hurt eyes. I had to turn away; I couldn't look at him because if I did the tears would just start again. I led him outside and shut the door gently behind us.

"Gab, please let me explain. You need to hear it. She was just flirting with me and caught me off guard with a kiss. I swear nothing happened. I was sitting there waiting for you to come in with a card and teddy bear but she came in before you and did that. Please listen to me."

"Why should I? How do I know that you're not just feeding me a bunch of lies? Because what I saw is different from what you're telling me. And if you really didn't want to kiss her, you should've said no and pushed her off you."

"I-." He said before I interrupted.

"Because you still love her right?"

"NO! Not at all, I love you with all my heart. You have to believe me."

"Just forget it. I know what I saw. And what I saw was my boyfriend who promised me that he loved me and would never hurt me but was sitting in class kissing another girl behind my back. Worst of all, she was your ex. But you know what? Just forget it; I don't want to talk about this anymore. We're through and besides, I'm moving back to LA. You made your choice and I made mine. I don't want to be the girl that keeps crying over the same old things. Go back to your whore and goodbye Embry." I said, turning on my heel and walking to the door.

He caught my wrist in his, "You're... leaving?" he asked dejectedly.

"Yes." I said. "Now let go."

He dropped my wrist immediately and stood there looking so lost; like he was close to tears. But he was the one who hurt me so much I couldn't even feel sympathy for him; not even in the slightest.

As soon as I closed the door, I sobbed. I couldn't help myself. My mind was all made up; I would tell my parents that I was leaving for LA. I just couldn't stay here anymore. All the painful memories with Seth had always haunted me and now there's another pile with Embry. I needed some time to think; to become the old Gabriella again. The one who was tough and didn't let life bring her down. The one who didn't care about boys and was living her life to the fullest. I knew that I wasn't thinking things thoroughly enough but I couldn't care less; the old Gabriella was impulsive anyway. I knew that I this would be good for me; it would give me time to grow up and learn from my mistakes here. Then I would return to La Push and be wiser and mature. Yes, that's what I needed. And that's what I was going to achieve.

**There ya go! I'm finding it hard to make my chapters longer now but oh well! I promise to make the next chapter at least 2,000 words long so pray for me... just kidding :P have a good weekend! Remember to review! Thanks Xx**


	19. Chapter 19: I Miss You

**Ok, so Gabriella and Embry have broken up :( but they'll eventually get back together soon. So here's the next chapter and enjoy! **

**Chapter 19: I Miss You. **

_I miss you..._

_I miss your smile, _

_And I still shed a tear,_

_Every once in a while. _

_And even though it's different now,_

_You're still here somehow._

_My heart won't let you go_

_And I need you to know,_

_I miss you._

_I Miss You by Miley Cyrus._

_Embry's POV_

Three months, 27 days, 5 hours and 33 seconds. That's how long I had gone without seeing Gabriella; my Gabriella. She had left me and La Push after seeing Jasmine attacking me with a kiss because she thought I was cheating on her. I cried for my lost love every night but I never let anyone see me. They knew how bad I was hurting and the whole pack was suffering along with me because of the mind links.

I wish she would've let me explain; how I didn't love anyone else but her. But she never gave me the chance. Every day was a blur and I felt dead and empty inside because she wasn't here with me. I missed her smile and her sweet voice telling me that she loved me. I missed all the good times we had together; she left me broken and wishing for death to come knocking at my door. Because hell was better than not being with her.

I remember the day she left. I was hiding in the bushes in my wolf form watching her say goodbye to her family and the pack. It was painful, I couldn't even breathe properly. I wish I was there with her, hugging her tightly and begging her to come back to me. But it was all too late, I was too much of a coward to go and see her for possibly the last time. I regretted never going to her because I could've at least seen her one last time. Now all I had were our memories and pictures. She wasn't even here to celebrate my birthday with me. I hated how our relationship went; I thought that because she was my imprint that everything would go perfectly without any problems but fate apparently had other plans for us. The pack threw me a surprise party at Emily's house but I couldn't enjoy it. The one person that I wanted there was a thousand miles away.

The pack tried to help me get through it, but it was no use. They were all happy with their lives and had their imprints with them every day. I didn't. The imprints all reassured me that she would come back to me because of our eternal bond and I tried to believe them but it was hard. It was even harder to get up every day and look forward to living.

I couldn't help but be a little bit annoyed with Gabriella though. She didn't even give me a chance to talk and explain everything. If she did she would know that I wasn't cheating on her. But that didn't happen did it?

After she left, I was comatose for at least a week. I was moping and I didn't want to talk or eat or sleep. I tried calling her but she still ignored my calls.

I got a job at a local garage in La Push and was earning quite a bit of money for it. Who knew that people's cars broke down all the time? Because I certainly didn't. Working distracted me from all my sadness and got me to do something instead of just lie on my bed and think about Gabriella. Girls came to garage and flirted with me but I didn't even give them a second glance. They were the reason that Gab had left in the first place.

I tried to talk to her brother Danny once during school and ask him about how she was doing but he simply gave me a cold stare and walked away, not giving me the chance to say anything. It was really terrible not knowing anything about her life. I would sometimes wonder about her life. I wondered if she was back to being friends with that guy that started this whole mess. And if she was, where they together? I felt anger and jealousy course through my body but it disappeared after I took three deep breaths.

I turned on the radio as I started working on a car's engine. It had been a pretty slow day today so there were only three people at work today: Me, Drew and Jacob. The radio was playing a song called 'What Hurts The Most' by some guy called Rascal Flatts. Now normally, I would've changed the station but as I listened to more of it, I found that I could actually relate to it.

_What hurts the most,_

_Was being so close_

_And having so much to say,_

_And watching you walk away._

_And never knowing,_

_What could've been._

_And not seeing that loving you, _

_Is what I was trying to do._

I laughed at the irony of it. It fit the situation at the airport perfectly. I chickened out of saying all the things I wanted to and watched her walk away. I never even got to give her the card and teddy bear I had bought for her the other day.

_Gabriella's POV_

It was a sunny day here in LA. Yeah, I had moved back. After telling my parents about moving back to LA for a couple of months, they reluctantly agreed. That was of course after I had begged them for two whole days. But they also decided that it was best if I got some time away from La Push. So I left with Alex.

I was enjoying life back here in LA; surrounded with all my old friends and my problem-free life. But how could I not enjoy it? I mean, I was a teenager who lived in LA with no parents. It was like heaven.

But I felt like I was missing something; I felt incomplete. I hid it from everyone because if I didn't even know what it meant, how could they? I shrugged it off as missing my family back in La Push. I mean it had been three months since I last saw them. They called every day to ask how I was and if was I ok. They would occasionally ask me when I was coming back but I always avoided that subject; I wasn't even sure if I wanted to come back.

Even though I loved LA, I had to admit that I did miss La Push. Even if it was just by a teensy little bit. I missed the serenity the place had. It was always a favourite of mine to just go down to the beach by myself, listen to music on my iPod and stare at the calm waves of the ocean lost in my own thoughts. Her in LA you couldn't do that. The beaches were almost always crowded and there was no serenity whatsoever. But I was used to it; I had grown up here after all.

After I came back, Rachel and her mom had welcomed me into their home, saying that I was always welcome and that it didn't matter how long I stayed. I felt guilty if I didn't help with the bills so I gave half the money of the bills each month even though they refused every time. I was also friends with Ethan again. Not as close as before but still best friends. I was reunited with Alex, Stevie and Rachel again so I was happy.

But I missed my friends back in La Push aswell. I had become good friends with Rachel, Kim and Emily while me and Embry were dating and I enjoyed their company. Rachel was just like Paul; loud and short-tempered, Kim was quiet and shy but if you got to know her, she came out of her shell and Emily was amazing. She was the first person I came to with my problems and she would always teach me new recipes when I came over to her house. Of course I kept in touch with them but it just wasn't the same. I had also somehow repaired my friendship with Leah. I thanked her for helping me that day and we just got talking.

I wasn't so easy to admit that I was missing Embry. Yeah, I was mad at him for what he had done but I still loved him; no more and no less. I refused to date any guys in LA that Rachel tried to set me up with because let's just face it; I was still moping over Embry and I didn't want to start dating again. I was moping over what used to be and I wished everyday that things didn't go the way they did. But they did.

I was very touchy on that subject and rarely talked to anyone about it. The first few weeks here I pretended I was happy. I wore a mask everyday and no one seemed to see through it but Alex. Maybe it was because she had gone through the same thing with Mason but who knows? I tried not to cry at night when I was lying in bed but sometimes I just couldn't help it. Thankfully, Rachel didn't say anything about it and just let me be.

I craved for my old life; the life I had before I went to La Push. But that was all long gone by now. I was back at my old school in LA and was in detention almost every day; but it was normal for me. It was a Saturday and Rachel, along with her mom were out at work and I had the whole house to myself. The sun was shining but I didn't feel like going out. My phone rang and I looked at the caller id. It was Emily.

"Hello." I said into the phone.

"Hey Gab. It's Kim."

"Kim? Why are you calling on Emily's phone?"

"Because I have no credit on mine and I'm over here at Emily's house so she let me call on hers."

"Oh, is it just the three of you guys there?"

"No. All of us are here. Sam, Emily, Paul, Rachel, Jared, Jacob, Quil, Seth, Leah and... Embry." She said, saying the last name quietly. The background on her end went quiet.

"Oh."

"Yeah... do you want to talk to him?" she offered.

"Uh... maybe some other time."

"Ok, but I was calling to ask you when you're coming back. Everyone misses you and wants you back here."

"Kim..." I started. I didn't know what to say. I didn't think I was ready to come back just yet.

"Please Gab... We really miss you. Especially your family."

"I don't know Kim. I'll have to think about it."

"Ok, but make up your mind soon. Or else I won't stop bugging you about it." She threatened.

"Fine. I have to go, bye." I said hanging up the phone.

Was I really ready to go back? If I did go back I would see Embry and Jasmine again. I wasn't even sure if they were together or what. If they were I don't think I could handle it. Just the thought of it sickened me. But why was I feeling this way? I mean, we weren't even together... anymore.

Life was so confusing sometimes. But what was I gonna decide? I guess it was time to call my parents and see what they thought.

The phone rang a few times before it was picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hewwo." Said a little girl's voice.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"Cwaire." She answered, giggling.

"Oh, hello Claire. Are my parents there?"

"Yes."

"May I speak to them?"

"Yes!" she answered happily before giving the phone away.

"Hello?" said my mom's voice.

"Mom, its Gab."

"Oh, hey honey. Have you met Claire?"

"Yeah, who is she?" I asked intrigued.

"You know Emily your friend? Well she came to visit us yesterday and Claire was with her and some guy called Quil. She asked us if we could babysit for her because she had to go somewhere with Sam and Quil had work so we agreed."

"Oh." Why was Quil involved with the little girl?

"So why did you call?"

"Uh, Kim called me... she asked me to come back to La Push."

"Oh, well are you? We all miss you here honey."

"That's why I'm calling, mom. I need your help to decide if I should or not. What do you think?"

"Well, I think you should but that's my opinion. Do you feel like you're ready to come back to La Push? It is your graduation next month."

Oh yeah! How could I forget about graduation? Stupid me.

"Well... I think I am but I don't think I'm ready to see..." I trailed off.

"Embry?"

"Yeah, do you know how he's been?"

"No. Your father won't let him near the house and nobody's talking to him."

"Ok." I said, hearing the front door being unlocked. "Uh, Rachel and her mom is back, I should go."

"Ok, honey. Just remember, whatever your decision, we're here for you."

"Thanks mom. Bye."

"Bye. Take care."

That was my mind made up; I would be returning to La Push. But with a guest.

**There ya go! Can anybody guess who the guest is? It's pretty easy, but maybe that's because I know who it is, Hahaha. Oh well! Remember to review and tell me what you think! Thanks Xx **


	20. Chapter 20: Gabriella's Return

**I need to fix a little mistake I did in the last chapter. Gabriella's mom was supposed to say "Your graduation is in a few months." Whoopsies. But anyway, most of you guys guessed who her guest was and it will be revealed in this chapter... so yeah. Oh and last thing, its Kiowa Gordon's birthday today. If you don't know who he is he plays Embry Call in twilight so he is VERY important ;) Happy Birthday Kiowa! 3 if you have atwitter, you can wish him a happy birthday at his account CircaKiGordon! now back to the story, enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 20: Gabriella's Return. **

_Gabriella's POV_

_They say when you are missing someone, _

_It's because they are feeling the same._

_But I don't think it's possible for him to miss me_

_As much as I'm missing him. _

_Tumblr._

I forgot how hectic the ride to La Push from LA was. It was especially annoying this time because the flight attendant was a boy... who kept flirting with me. He was seriously annoying the fuck out of me. He finally stopped when I 'accidently' spilled my apple pie on his shoes as he was walking by. His fault, not mine.

I had called Kim, Rachel and Emily and told them that I was returning. In return, they were having a party for me... Great right? Yeah, except that Embry was going to be there. It was going to be an interesting day for me today. Especially because Ethan was with me and he was the reason we had an argument which eventually led up to events I don't want to repeat. At least my family was going to be there as well. Rachel, Alex and Stevie had school back in LA so they weren't allowed to come but Ethan was. Strange huh? Alex said she would come soon but I was confused as to why. Was it because of Seth?

"Gab, look! They have Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows here!" Ethan said excitedly.

"That's great." I replied uninterested.

"Well ok then Miss Grouchy."

"Ethan, please just shut up or else I won't think twice about asking the pilot to drop you off the airplane... while it's still in the sky."

"Fine." He grumbled and went back to watching on his mini TV.

There was half an hour left of the flight. Enough time for me to catch some sleep for the crazy day ahead of me. Hopefully.

_Embry's POV_

_Sometimes when people decide to leave you,_

_You have to let them._

_Mo matter how much you don't want them to._

_There are some things far beyond our control._

_Even if you have the strength to fight for them,_

_You just have to accept the cold harsh truth and move on._

_Tumblr_

It was a strange afternoon today. We were having a pack meeting in our wolf forms and Sam was going on about the usual stuff. But then, just when he was about to say something that Emily had told him last night, he stopped mid sentence. It was weird. Then, there was tension in the pack's mind and I was the only one who didn't understand it; like they wanted to hide whatever it was from me. But whatever, I would find out soon enough anyway.

I soon phased back to my human form to go to work in the garage while Quil and Seth stayed for patrol and the rest went back to Emily's place. I was just about to walk through the door of the office when I noticed a familiar car parked there. I stopped and stared at it. Was it...?

"Hey Embry." Said a voice behind me; the same voice that haunted my dreams when I was sixteen.

I turned around and there she was, "Ella?"

She ran up to me and hugged me but pulled away when I didn't return her hug. "Why don't you seem excited to see me?"

I laughed bitterly at her, "Excited? I told you I never wanted to see you ever again."

"Embry, come on. That was the past; I was stupid and young back then but I'm smarter now. Can't you just forget about that and be friends again?"

"No." I said coldly and turned my back to her. "Now just get the hell out of my life."

I shut the door on her while she stood there looking shocked at me. I didn't care about her any longer. She was my girlfriend for three years but on our third anniversary, I showed up at her house to surprise her with chocolates and roses but she was in bed with her ex boyfriend. It crushed me. What made it worse is that when she saw me standing at the door, she told me to go and that we were through. But now here she was, begging for me to take her back. No way! I wanted Gabriella and only Gabriella. I didn't care if she hated me because I knew someday that we would be together. We were meant to be.

I couldn't concentrate on the paperwork in front of me. I wanted so badly to phase and let all my anger out in the woods. I stood up quickly and told my manager Drew that I wasn't feeling well and that I had to go home. He let me go and told me to get better soon. It was a good thing that he was really nice or else I would've lost my job. Me and Jacob always left unexpectedly sometimes but he never questioned us about it.

I phased into my wolf form quickly enough and just ran. I loved running in my wolf form; I felt so free. After running at top speed around the woods, I decided to go to Emily's house where the whole pack was. But there was also this tugging feeling on my spine telling me to go there. It was just like the feeling I had when Gabriella was around me. But there was no way that Gabriella was here, right? I shook the feeling off as me being hungry and craving for Emily's delicious home cooked meals. I did run faster to her house though.

I was pulling on my shorts and walking to Emily's front door when a scent hit me. The same scent that I had been craving for for the past three months but it was mixed in with someone else's; it wasn't familiar to me though. She couldn't have moved on so quickly could she? I don't what I would do if she had already found someone else. I mean, yeah I wanted her happy but what about me?

I opened the door and there she was. Sitting laughing along to whatever Emily had said. Was this what the pack was trying to hide from me this morning? She still looked beautiful. Her long, curly, dark brown hair was straightened and it was sitting neatly on her shoulders. Her face was natural with no makeup; just the way I loved it. She did look thinner than before though, was she not eating? The frilly vest she was wearing hung loose on her body and her shorts were held up with a belt. She hated wearing belts. I noticed a guy sitting beside her. No! Please tell me that they aren't together. But the way he looked at her... it was like he was in love with her. Thankfully she didn't return them.

They hadn't seemed to notice me and I stood there observing the scene in front of me. I noticed that her brothers and sisters and mom were here but her dad was missing. Where was he?

I coughed loudly and they all silenced. Everyone spun around to face me and the pack had horrified looks on their faces. So I was right, they were trying to hide this from me. I shot all of them glares and stared at Gabriella. She was staring right back at me but she quickly avoided my gaze when I looked over at her. I couldn't help but feel al little hurt at her actions; did she really not love me anymore?

"Embry! Come and sit down." Emily said and walked over to me. "Why are you late? Sam told me that he told you about it."

I glared at Sam who gave a sheepish look in return. "You were supposed to tell me?" I asked furiously.

"You didn't tell him?" Emily asked shocked.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

I smirked at him and took the only seat available. The seat facing the mysterious boy who looked like he was in love with Gabriella and in between Josh and Jacob. I looked him up and down. I was still bigger than him but just by a little.

"So Gabriella, what made you decide to come back?" Rachel asked, smoothing out the awkward silence that had loomed over the house.

"Well, Kim did," she said looking at Kim who had a huge smile on her face, "and my mom. They both told me that everyone missed me so I felt so special and decided to grace you guys with my presence once again." She said, laughing.

"Gee, how lucky are we." Josh said sarcastically.

"Oh whatever, I know you missed me the most." She said smiling and winking at him.

"Yeah, I guess." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Nu-uh! I missed you the most!" Kim argued playfully.

Everyone laughed but me. The pack plus the imprints knew that I was the one that missed her the most.

"So, when's dinner coming out?" Paul asked. "I'm hungry."

"I see you still haven't lost that appetite of yours Paul." Gabriella commented.

"No! I've had to cook more food for him than usual." Rachel replied, rolling his eyes at Paul.

"So! I'm a growing boy. I need lots of food for energy." He defended.

"Oh please! All of them eat like animals! Jared here raided my fridge the other day and we had no food left!" Kim joined in.

"Hey! I told you I was hungry." Jared replied. They all had a debate on our appetite but shut up when Jacob, Gabriella's mom, Sam and Emily came out with our dinner.

Everybody started eating as soon as all the food was laid out onto the table and there were small conversations. I noticed that Gabriella kept stealing glances at me; probably because I was the only one shirtless. I smirked at her and she bowed her head down trying to hold a smile back. The small talk continued and I found out that the mysterious boy was Ethan. THE Ethan; the boy who started this whole mess between me and Gabriella. When dinner was finished, meaning when there was no food left on the table, everyone got up to leave. Either it was helping Emily with the dishes or going to the living area to watch a football game that was on.

"I think I'm going outside for some fresh air." Gabriella announced. "Alone." She said when Ethan got up. He sat back down and looked somewhat sad. I smirked at him. He saw my smirk and glared back at me. I took this as my opportunity to talk to Gabriella alone and followed her outside. Her brothers watched me carefully as I did this.

I walked outside and shut the door quietly. She was sitting on the front steps looking up at the star filled sky. Even then, she looked so beautiful with the moonlight shining on her face. But I was angry with her; we had some business to discuss.

"Gab." I called out.

She spun around and when she saw it was me, her whole body stiffened and she turned her back to me. I felt the anger rise within me again.

"Why did you come back? And why did you bring him with you. Do you even know how much you hurt me? Or do not give a shit about me any longer?" I asked furiously.

She stood up and faced me, anger in her eyes. "Well sorry, I didn't know you were in charge of La Push. I didn't come back for you; I came back for the people that actually care about me won't hurt me. And Ethan's welcome her whenever he wants. You don't have right to be angry at me when it's your fault I left."

I scoffed at her, "You didn't even give me a chance to explain!" I yelled.

"Explain what? That you went behind my back with some slut just because we had an argument and I refused to talk to you? I'm pretty sure I know what that is." She spat back.

"I told you I only loved you but you won't listen. Why won't you just hear me out? Then maybe you would understand the situation for once."

"Then make me understand! If you really do love me you wouldn't give up like a coward but instead you'd man up and fight for me. I can't wait for you forever."

"I would always fight for you Gabriella. Even when you push me away and tell me that you don't love me anymore. Because that's just how much I need you and love you."

"I never stopped loving you Embry; I just stopped showing it."

Her shoulders slumped and she sat back down and I joined her.

"Why can't I ever be happy in La Push? It's like every time something good happens for me here, someone turns around and goes "she seems happy, let's fuck up her life a little more." Nothing goes right. I don't want to be mad at you Embry; it's just that remembering what used to be is killing me." Gabriella said, lowly.

"Huh, you're not the only one. I wake up and think, "what if things had went differently? Would we be still together?" it was so depressing you know that?" I said smiling a little. She smiled a small smile back.

"I was like that too."

"Gab... I'm sorry. Could you ever forgive me?" I asked, afraid of her answer.

She laughed a little and looked at me in the eyes, "I've already forgiven you Embry. I guess it just wasn't mean to be."

If only she knew how wrong she was.

**Ok, there's chapter 20! I'm actually shocked that my story's already been this long; I hadn't originally planned it this long but whatever. I just want to thank all my reviewers who've been there since the start! I wanna dedicate the next chapter to you guys so yeah. Remember to review! Thanks Xx **


	21. Chapter 21: Problems

**Ok, so like I said I wanna dedicate this chapter to all you guys who review my story. I know that I don't have that much but some of you guys review my chapters most of the time and I'm really grateful. Special thanks to:**

**Lunalicious24601**

**GalePercyHarry707**

**Twilightlover244**

**.Moony**

**Chapter 21: Problems.**

_Gabriella's POV_

Things had somehow managed to heal up between me and Embry. After that night we had a talk about our feelings and problems, we somehow just buried the hatchet. I was thankful that was one less problem on my list. But as you already know, I don't exactly have the best luck in the world. Because once that problem was gone, another came along. You know Ethan? The guy that hurt me but now we're back to being friends etc. etc. Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news may not be Jasmine getting hit by a bus good but good. Ethan hit it off with almost everybody at Emily's house. You see ALMOST. Because Ethan and Embry... not so much.

Here's the story. When me and Embry went back inside after our talk, I sat down next to him and thought it would be nice to catch up. But apparently, Ethan didn't think like that. Because he kept glaring at Embry and never took his eyes off me. I'm guessing everybody noticed because they all left one by one until it was just the three of us. When it was silent, Embry then decided that he would tell me a joke. Well, one of those lame jokes that I used to tell him.

_*Flashback*_

_I was sitting there, nervous and uncomfortable in the situation I was in when Embry leaned in close to my ear. _

"_Knock, knock." He whispered gently. _

_I looked over at him and he had a mischievous smile on his face. _

"_Who's there?" I asked back. _

"_Embry."_

"_Embry who?" _

"_Embry Call. Bad dumdum shh" he whispered, chuckling gently. _

_I laughed along and remembered that that was one of the jokes I had told him a long time ago. Well not that long, but still._

_And the whole time me and him were laughing, Ethan stared at us with a look I didn't really get. He suddenly stood up and sat between me and Embry. Yup, right in between us. You can guess how pissed Embry got when he did this. They glared at each other and I just stared at both of them, shocked. _

"_Uh, Ethan... what are you doing?" I asked, awkwardly._

"_Well, I'm just here to sit beside you; my best friend. Nothing wrong with that right?" he replied, throwing his arm around my shoulder. _

"_Well, yeah but you can't just sit between me and Embry like that." _

"_And why not?" _

"_Because it's rude and you've been giving Embry dirty looks all night." I replied, raising an eyebrow at him. _

"_Well..." he trailed off, not finishing his sentence before going back to glaring at Embry who was doing the same." _

_*End flashback*_

You see! I tried the next day to get them to at least be civil to each other but to no avail. I was going to need a miracle. Thankfully, Christmas was approaching; maybe I could get a Christmas miracle to happen.

But I really needed to get my Christmas shopping done. Oh great, just another problem to add to my list. I really needed to get luckier nowadays. I wonder if we were going to spend Christmas in La Push or LA. To be honest, I didn't know if I could choose which place I would pick if I was given a choice.

I lay in bed, fidgeting. I couldn't get to sleep and it was only half six in the morning; way too early to be up on a Saturday if you ask me. I would have to get used to the time zone here in La Push again, I mean, I was starting school on Monday again anyway. I wouldn't exactly be new but not that familiar to anyone either. Hopefully Toby still remembers me. I'm just praying that Jasmine switched classes while I was away; but I doubt it.

After finally giving up on getting some more sleep, I sat up in bed and stared at my surroundings. My room here in La Push was so much different than the room I was staying in LA. For instance, in LA my room was filled with all my hair and beauty products. But here in La Push my half of the room looked bare and was just decorated with some photos and my phone was the only thing on top of my bedside table.

I decided not to bother getting changed and went downstairs wearing my blue monkey pyjamas and a loose t-shirt with the letters 'SWAG' on it. I walked into the living room to find Ethan sprawled out onto our small sofa and sleeping peacefully... for now. I walked up to him and shook him violently in order to wake him up. He opened his eyes lazily at me and stared at me in confusion.

"What?" he asked his voice thick with sleep.

"Wake up! It's too late to be sleeping in."

He spun around and looked at the clock, "It's only seven in the morning!" he protested. "Go back to sleep." He grumbled, pulling a pillow to cover his face.

I glared down at him. I continued to glare at him until he looked up from the pillow. I finally managed to convince him to wake up and he groaned something unintelligible. Typical boy. He went upstairs to use the bathroom and I went to the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal and an apple. I didn't know that Ethan had snuck behind me until he shouted boo and made me drop the apple I was holding. Thankfully I had a good grip on the cereal bowl and only managed to spill a little bit on the floor.

I glared at him. "What was that for?"

He held his hands up in surrender, "Hey, you do it to me all the time."

"Yeah, but not when you're holding food!" I yelled furiously.

"What's the entire racket about? It's too early in the morning to be arguing." My mom scolded entering the kitchen.

"It's Ethan's fault! He snuck up behind me while I was holding a bowl of cereal and an apple." I said.

She rolled her eyes at me, "You do it to everyone all the time Gabriella, stop whining."

"You see." Ethan chimed in, with a smirk on his face.

"You better shut your face before I make you." I threatened.

"Stop it! Now help me cook breakfast for the family." She said, stopping us from any more arguments.

I groaned. "Oh no! I think my ankle is sprained. I should go back to bed." I exclaimed, limping for effect.

"Uh huh. Stop it; we all know you're pretending. Now start chopping those tomatoes." My mom instructed.

I sighed, defeated, "Fine."

The next hour was spent chopping tomatoes, frying sausages, bacon, potato bread and eggs, toasting soda bread and making either coffee or hot chocolate. After, I got out all the plates and cups and set the table. I then took the food and laid them out neatly onto the table. At around half eight, everybody started to come down.

Josh barged in and started to sniff the air. "Mmm, there are sausages for breakfast."

"More importantly, is there any bacon?" Danny asked.

"No forget that! There's potato bread right?" Asia piped in.

"Yes, yes and yes. Now get everyone else or nobody's eating." I warned. I laughed when they all ran upstairs and I heard them yelling at everyone to wake up because they were all hungry.

"They're like pigs." I commented.

"Just like you." Ethan added.

I faked a gasp at him, "How dare you! You're heavier than me!"

"I'm a boy, I'm meant to be. And you know that I was only messing about with you." He replied.

"Still!"

"What are you guys arguing about now?" Andrew asked annoyed, sauntering into the room.

"He just called me a pig!" I yelled.

"Aren't you?" he said, smirking.

I gasped, "At least I'm not a dork like you."

"There's nothing wrong with being smart!" he said, narrowing his eyebrows at me.

"Cut it out and get seated at the table." Dad instructed, coming into the room holding a very sleepy Jasper in his arms.

"But they're all calling me pigs! Meanies." I said sticking my tongue out at them.

"Whatever. There's bacon for breakfast and I want to get my hands on them before Danny hogs it all."

"Hey! Irish is most likely to be eating more than me!" Danny said.

"Yep that's true!" Irish said, running to the table.

"Hey wait up!" Danny yelled, running after her and spinning her around in the air despite her protests for him to put her down.

I smiled. I didn't realize how much I had missed my family until now. Maybe it was a good thing that I came back here.

Everyone else arrived and we all walked to the table, where Danny and Irish were already stacking up the bacon on their plates.

I looked at Andrew who was busy taking some sausages and potato bread, "And I'm the pig?"

He rolled his eyes at me, "Fine, maybe I am too."

We all laughed. Breakfast was spent laughing and catching up with each other about what I had missed. I felt a bit saddened when I heard everyone describe their lives without me. But it was nice to know that they were all happy.

I was sitting beside Jilliane and I took the time to ask her a question, "So how's it going with that guy you met a few months ago."

I got my answer when she smiled brightly at me and held up a bracelet with a heart that said CG loves JR.

After I was finished watching my family eating their fried breakfast while I was eating cereal, my dad left for work in Port Angeles. He was currently working as a solicitor for a family whose grandmother had died unexpectedly and the two brothers were fighting over her fortunes. I wasn't really listening when dad explained the whole thing to me so that was the only thing I knew. It did sound complicated though.

My mom suggested me taking Ethan to First Beach and when his eyes brightened, I asked Asia and Josh to come along. I already knew that he had a thing for me but I wasn't really ready for another relationship right now. I was still patching things up with Embry and I didn't want a relationship to get in the way of that.

I got changed casually into denim shorts, white vest with a loose pink sweater over it and some gladiator sandals. I brushed my teeth and grabbed my sunglasses before the four of us started the short walk to First Beach.

When we all got there, there were a few people on the beach, but not too many that they would disturb us. We all sat down on the sand and sat there looking at each other awkwardly. Time for my jokes to kick in.

"So, what did the chicken say to the owl?" I asked

"I dunno." They all replied.

"Nothing, because chickens can't speak." I answered before bursting out laughing. They all watched me laughing before joining in.

"I don't even know why I'm laughing, that wasn't funny." Asia said, recovering from her laughter.

"Oh please, you know I'm hilarious." I teased.

We suddenly heard other people laughing and we all turned our heads in the direction of the sound. They looked little because they were so far away but when one of the girls started waving, I instantly knew who they were.

"Come on," I said getting up, "They're all over there."

We all walked over and was met halfway with a very happy Kim.

"Hey there." I said, as she threw her arms around me. "Jared, what did you feed her?"

"Nothing! She ate a chocolate bar and drank two cans of coke since we got here."

"Well, that's hardly nothing!" I commented and pried Kim's arms off me. 2No more sugar for you for the rest of the day."

She pouted her lips before skipping off into Jared's open arms.

I noticed Embry standing in the crowd staring at me, so I offered him a smile which he happily returned.

Everybody split up; Paul, Jared, Sam, Josh, Ethan, Quil and Jacob tossed a football around, Emily, Asia, Kim and Rachel sat on the blanket laid on the ground along with Claire who was playing with a Barbie doll. Claire was unbelievably cute; she had already won me over after just three days here in La Push. She always asked me to play with her and her Barbie dolls and I took her out for ice-cream when I was over at Emily's house. All the boys played football... except for Embry.

"Hey." I said walking up to him and giving him a hug.

"Hey Gab." He said, wrapping his own arms around me and pressing his lips to my forehead. I suddenly felt too close to him and pulled away. I looked at his face and he had a confused expression.

"Let's go and eat." I said, grabbing his hand and skipping to where the girls where.

We both sat down on the blanket and everyone exchanged glances and smirks. I then noticed that I was still holding Embry's hand and quickly let it go. He looked hurt but I just gave him a small smile.

Seth walked up and sat down beside me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Hey." He said quietly at me.

"Hey." I said, glancing at him. He looked somewhat mature; his young boyish looks were gone. But he had a pained expression on his face.

"So do you know when Alex is coming back?" he asked.

I looked at him shocked, "No." I answered before turning my face away and looked at Embry who had a sympathetic smile on his face.

"Are you okay?" he whispered into my ear.

I nodded my head. I don't think I could speak right now. So I was right, he did like Alex.

I tried to push the thought out of my head and thankfully Ethan came just at that moment.

"Gab, you wanna go in the water?" he asked.

"Uh no! It's freezing, are you insane?" I asked.

"No it's not! You're just overreacting."

"Ugh, fine." I said, standing up and glancing at Embry who was staring daggers at Ethan. I'm pretty sure that if looks could kill, Ethan would have dropped dead by now.

I followed Ethan into the water and he put his arms around my waist and threw me in the water. I swallowed a big gulpful and stood up. I coughed and coughed until all the water was gone. Embry was suddenly next to me and was looking at me concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked worried.

"Yeah I'm fine." I choked out.

"Come on, let's get you dried up. That's enough being in the water for now." He said, and took me back to shore.

"Sorry Gab." Ethan called after me.

"It's ok." I said quietly.

I was kind of shocked at Embry's actions. I mean, I didn't really drown, I just swallowed loads of water but I would've lived. I wish he would stop treating me like I was only five years old; I could take care of myself at eighteen. But why did he care so much about me? Ethan would have taken care of me no problem.

I noticed that Leah was in the crowd when we arrived. I smiled at her. I was okay with her again after she helped me that day I saw Embry and Jasmine kissing.

"Hey."

She smiled back, "Hey Gab. Long time no see."

"Yeah, just back from LA a couple of days ago."

"Gab!" Ethan said from behind.

"What?"

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

"It's ok. I survived." I said, rolling my eyes at him.

Leah looked behind me at who I was talking to and Ethan stared back at her. Suddenly she gasped and looked at Ethan with wide eyes. Oh no, not again. Would this be just like Seth and Alex all over again? Guess I would find out soon enough.

**Well that's it! This is dedicated for all my reviewers; I would just like to say thank you again. Sorry it took me ages to update, school's been in the way but it's nearly Easter break so hopefully I'll update more often. Remember to review! Thanks Xx**


	22. Chapter 22: The Game Plan

**Sorry about not updating for a while, there's been a lot of drama going on lately and I can't even type properly because I sliced my finger while trying to slice an apple. That's what I get for trying to eat healthy. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Chapter 22: The Game Plan.**

_Embry's POV_

Ethan. Yes, stupid, idiotic and moronic Ethan. That's who was here in La Push and was ruining everything I was doing to try and win Gabriella back. Why did he even come? I'm pretty sure nobody asked him to anyway, he probably pushed Gabriella into letting him come here. I knew that I shouldn't be jealous because Gabriella wasn't mine anymore blah blah blah. But I didn't exactly care, did I?

But I sure was happy that Gabriella was here. I felt complete and I had a reason to get up in the mornings once again. Something I didn't have when she had left. But I couldn't help but wish that we were closer; maybe even together. I missed being able to text her those good morning texts, I missed being able to hold her in my arms and most of all I missed being able to call her mine. Mine and only mine. But I was trying to be as patient as I could be. But unfortunately I wasn't the world's most patient person so she needed to make her mind up soon.

I tried to get her alone so I could talk to her privately but Ethan just kept butting in and ruining everything. You see me and the pack, plus the imprints, were out at the beach just chilling because there weren't any vampires lurking around and the weather was nice and warm; a very rare thing that happens in La Push. Then, just when I thought I was going to die of boredom, I heard someone telling a joke followed by a laugh. And I would recognize that laugh and joke anywhere.

"Dude, can that even be called a joke?" Paul asked. He had obviously heard the joke that Gabriella had said.

"I dunno, but she finds them funny." I replied, chuckling at the memories of all the times she had told me 'jokes'.

"Jeez, it really is easy to make her laugh." Jacob commented.

"Yeah. Hey Quil, I think I finally found someone who will actually laugh at your jokes." I snorted. Everyone else agreed while Quil shot glares at everyone.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Kim asked confused.

"Gabriella." Jared whispered in her ear.

"She's here?" Kim asked excitedly. "Where is she?" she asked, scanning the beach.

"Over there." Jared pointed out.

I noticed that Gabriella was looking over at us but she had a confused expression on her face so she probably didn't know who we were. Kim started waving her hand at her and a look of understanding dawned on her face. She stood up and ushered Josh, Asia and Ethan over to where we were. I noticed what she was wearing and took a huge gulp. She was wearing these really short denim shorts, a white vest with a pink sweater on top and gladiator sandals. She was way too sexy.

Kim was running over to her and suddenly threw her arms over a surprised Gabriella. I eyed Ethan and grabbed Jared's wrist to talk to him.

"What?" he asked.

"I need to ask you a favour." I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What's in it for me?"

I sighed. I should've known there was a price to pay. "I'll take your patrols for the next week so you have more time with Kim."

"Deal." He said smiling brightly.

Me and Jared stood up and went to greet Gab and the others. Gabriella had eventually managed to pry Kim's arms off her and was telling Jared not to feed her anymore sugar.

She smiled at me and I happily returned it. All the boys then started to play football and Jared got Ethan included. I mouthed a silent 'thank you' at him.

I walked over to Gabriella and wrapped her in my arms in a hug. I couldn't stop myself from kissing her forehead. Everything was going good but then I felt her tense up and suddenly let go of me. I looked at her questioningly but she grabbed my hand and dragged me over to where the other imprints where. Emily, Kim and Rachel; exchanged looks and smirks and then I noticed that Gabriella was still holding my hand. She must've noticed too because she suddenly let go of my hand. I couldn't help but feel hurt at her actions but let it go anyway; I knew she still needed space.

Just then Seth decided to show up. I felt sorry for the kid. He had imprinted on Alex while she was visiting Gabriella but Alex didn't want anything to do with him because of what happened between hoi and Gabriella. Now that Alex was gone, Seth was a mess. He couldn't concentrate properly when he was on patrol and barely ate. But I have to say, he took it better than me when Gabriella was gone.

He said a quiet hello which Gabriella reluctantly returned. Everybody felt uncomfortable. Just then Seth asked Gabriella when Alex was coming back and I felt pain shoot up my spine and I knew it was because of Gabriella. She turned her face away from him and stared at me. I offered her a sympathetic smile.

Ethan of course just had to show up at that exact moment and asked Gabriella to go in the water with him. Was he crazy? The water was freezing cold even if the weather was warm; what if Gabriella got sick? He convinced her to go and I glared at him. If Gabriella got sick, he better run for his life. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. If I hadn't screwed up he wouldn't be here and Gabriela would be with me instead of him. I kept my eyes on them and felt somebody sit down next to me. I turned my head and saw Leah, with a frown on her face. Nothing new.

"So how's Gabriella doing?" she asked,

"Ok. But Ethan keeps getting in the way." I muttered.

She snorted. I was distracted for a few seconds and then I heard someone spluttering and coughing. I looked at Gabriella who was in the water and noticed that she was soaking wet and that she was coughing. I stood up quickly and rushed to her side.

"Are you okay?" I asked, anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She choked out.

"Come on, let's get you dried up. That's enough being in the water for now."

Ethan called out a sorry but I was already taking her back to shore by that time.

Gabriella then noticed that Leah was there and they got to talking. Ethan was behind her and apologized again.

Leah looked to who was talking and I saw her eyes go wide and she gasped. I realized what happened just then. Leah had imprinted. I was kinda happy. At least she wouldn't be bitter anymore and she would be happy and the pack could finally get a break. But she would start asking questions. And when that time came, I was not going to be there.

The boys stopped playing football and went over to where we were. I still had my arms wrapped around Gabriella, trying to keep her warm because she was still shivering from the cold. I mouthed 'Leah imprinted' and their faces broke out into smiles. They were happy as well.

Gabriella was looking back and forth confusedly between Leah and Ethan who were both staring at each other. My poor imprint; if only she knew what had just happened. I really needed to figure out away to tell her the truth soon. Everybody stayed silent until Sam coughed loudly, making Leah tear her eyes away from Ethan.

"Leah, glad you could join us." He said.

"I was bored at home and decided to come along." she replied.

"Well, it's a good thing you're here." Emily said.

"I'm, Ethan." He said, holding his hand out for her to shake.

"Leah." She replied, shaking his hand.

"Gab!" Josh said, walking over to us with Asia on his tail. "Mom called saying we need to go home. Something about Uncle Jerry coming to visit."

"Alex is coming here again?" she said happily. Seth's face brightened immediately at Alex's name being said.

"Yeah, I think they're coming here for Christmas. She wants us to go home so we can fix the house for their visit."

"Okay." She replied, tugging on my arms to let her go. "I need to go Em."

"Okay, I'll call you later." I answered.

"Okay, see you guys later." She said, waving to everyone as she, along with Josh, Asia and Ethan, started walking home.

We all said our goodbyes and everyone sat down.

"Alex is coming here for Chris tams? I need to go buy some new clothes." Seth announced as soon as they were all out of earshot.

"That's not going to change anything. You'll still look ugly." Jacob commented.

"Ouch." He replied sarcastically, putting his hand over his heart. Jake rolled his eyes at him.

"You know she still might not talk to you. Did you see Gabriella when you asked her about Alex?" Rachel said.

Seth's face suddenly turned from happy to depressed. "Ugh, I forgot about that."

"You better not hurt Gabriella." I warned.

"I'll try not to." He replied.

"Oh well, at leads my Ethan problem is solved. Leah, I need you to start wooing your imprint." I said to Leah, who was still looking dazed.

"And just how do you expect me to do that? I barely know anything about him." She sighed.

"That shouldn't stop you Leah. All we need is to pamper you up a bit." Emily reassured her.

"Yeah! Me, Kim and Emily will give you a makeover enough to sweep Ethan off his feet." Rachel chimed in.

"I've got all the make-up and hair tools at my house." Kim added.

"Then it's settled. Leah will woo Ethan and I'll woo Gabriella." I said.

"Hold on. How do we know this will work? We need a game plan." Leah said.

"You're right." Jared agreed. "We should call it Operation GI."

Seth gasped, "Like GI Joe?"

Jared reached over and smacked him on the head, "No you moron. Like Operation Get Imprints."

Claire gasped, "Oooohh, unca Jawed said a bad wowd." Quil shot Jared a dirty look and he cringed.

"Sorry Claire-bear." He apologized.

"Dat's ok." She replied happily, giggling.

"Ok, I've got an idea." Jacob said. "How about Leah and Embry pretend to be a couple." He suggested.

My eyes widened with horror. "ME and HER?" I said, pointing over at Leah who had the same look of horror on her face.

"You act like as if I wanna date you!" Leah exclaimed. "I'd rather die than be with him. He's a sarcastic shit who has the mouth of a sailor."

"And you're a bitter witch who nobody likes or wants to be with." I retorted.

She glared at me, "Watch what comes out of your mouth Call."

"Oh please, I'm not scared of you."

"Stop it!" Sam shouted, clearly annoyed that we were arguing. "It's a good idea and it will hopefully make Gabriella and Ethan jealous. Now swallow your pride and suck it up, the both of you."

"Fine." We both grumbled.

This was going to take a lot of patience. Hopefully, I was still alive and bale to have kids by the time this is over. Wish me luck. Let Operation GI commence.

**So Leah and Embry... not exactly that fond of each other. But they have to do it for their imprints! And yes, Alex will be back soon and Seth might just get his happily ever after, who knows? Me! Hahaha ;) oh well, Remember to review! Thanks Xx. **


	23. Chapter 23: Operation GI

**Okay, before you start reading, I just want to apologize for taking ages to update. I was busy and I was given loads of homework during my Easter break so yeah. But good news is that I'll be able to update more often now :) so enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 23: Operation GI.**

_Embry's POV_

Life was hell. And I'm not even exaggerating. When the pack first told me that I had to pretend to be Leah's boyfriend, I already hated it. But after two days, I was ready to get a gun and shoot myself in the brain. Sharing Leah's mind was bad enough to begin with but now it was a hundred times worse.

For example, whenever we had to patrol together she would only bring up the fact that I was an illegitimate child once or twice. But now that was literally the only thing she thought of to torture me. Now, I've gotten used to people teasing me about being fatherless and just ignoring their snide comments but it's different when you actually have to hear it over and over again in your mind. It's like a broken tape recorder going on and on. But I knew I had to suck it up if I wanted to be with Gabriella again.

I let out a deep sigh as I walked inside the Clearwater supply store. I was sent here by my mom to fetch some bread and milk because we were out. I was scanning the dairy products aisle for the milk when I heard my name being called out. I closed the fridge door and spun my head around to see who was calling. I was secretly hoping that it would be Gabriella but instead it was Ella. Things just went from bad to worse.

I glared at her. "What do you want? I thought I told you to get the hell out of my life."

"Are you still not over that? Come on Embry, I already told you I was sorry. Can't you just get over it? How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" she said, looking at me pleadingly.

"You can say it as many times as you want but I won't ever forgive you." I said, turning my back on her and giving her the cold shoulder.

She stomped her foot on the ground, "Damnit Embry! It's not like you haven't made mistakes of your own. Everyone deserves a second chance so why can't you give me that? Is it because there's someone else?"

I took a deep breath to try and calm myself. She just wouldn't shut up and she was really getting on my nerves. "Yes, for your information there is someone else. So if you could just bow the fuck out of the picture I would appreciate it." I said harshly.

She looked taken aback for a moment but quickly regained her stubborn posture again, "And what if I say no?"

"Well then I have no choice but to make you." Said a voice from my left. I saw Leah standing there, wearing an apron and gloves.

"And who are you?" Ella asked, annoyed.

"Embry's girlfriend and you are?" she replied, walking up to me and putting an arm around my waist.

Ella's eyes went wide with surprise. She turned to face me, "You're dating Leah Clearwater?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Leah asked.

"No. I just heard from other people that Embry here was supposedly dating a girl named Gabriella from LA." She replied, looking at me with questioning eyes.

I heard the shop door open and someone stepped in. Oh great, just what we needed; more people.

"Can you guys please cut it out?" I said, frustrated.

"Cut what out?" came another voice.

We all turned to where the voice had come from and saw Gabriella standing there with a confused expression on her beautiful face. Oh holy shit.

"And who the hell are you?" Ella yelled, obviously frustrated by what she was finding out. That made two of us.

Gabriella didn't look taken aback like I thought she would've but instead walked up to where the three of us were situated.

"Gabriella. It's nice to meet you." She answered with fake politeness.

Ella laughed and had an evil look on her face. I heard Leah mutter from beside me 'this should be interesting' and I saw Gabriella eyeing Leah's arm that was still secured around my waist. Leah must've noticed too because she let go of my waist immediately like it was on fire.

"So you're Gabriella? The girl that was rumoured to be dating Embry? Well I guess it really is a small world. Did you know that Leah and Embry were dating or are you just finding that out now aswell?" Ella asked, obviously enjoying herself.

Gabriella looked disappointed when she heard that me and Leah were dating. I had a glimmer of hope; did that mean she still wanted to be with me?

"Uh no... I only found out aswell." She responded. "I should be going; I was only here to get some milk anyway." She said quietly. She walked to where I was.

"Excuse me." She said quietly, her head down not meeting my gaze.

I stepped away from the fridge containing the milk so she could reach in. Once she had gotten a small pint, she walked away and went to the counter to pay. I heard her mutter a quick goodbye to Leah though. I groaned; today really just wasn't my day was it?

We all stayed silent until Gabriella had left and then Ella started talking again.

"So she must still love you aswell." She commented. "You really are a heartbreaker Em." She said, before walking away.

I sighed and turned to Leah who had a frown on her face. "Nice going Leah."

"It's not my fault that you can't take care of your own problems or that you used to date girls with mental problems." She retorted.

"I can too! You just had to ruin it and now my chances of being with Gabriella again have gone from one to zero."

"You're not the only one! She'll go and tell Ethan and then he'll think that I'm not available anymore. We should end this fake relationship thing already! It's not even doing anything good for any of us!"

"I agree but Sam won't let us. Let's just give this one more day then we'll end it once and for all. I'll go see if Gabriella's going anywhere with Ethan today then we'll go follow them."

Leah sighed, "Agreed."

"Now get out of here, you smell like freaking chlorine." I commented, my nose wrinkling at the strong smell.

"You get out! This is my family's store!"

"Well I have to get something first then I'll get out!"

"Hurry." She said, before stalking off and doing whatever she was before Ella arrived.

_Gabriella's POV_

Embry was dating Leah. Embry was dating Leah. For some reason my brain found it hard to register that fact. But they hadn't really made it obvious when we were at the beach yesterday had they? I stepped into the house, avoiding the fight over the TV my brothers and sisters had going on right now.

I walked into the kitchen where the strong smell of spaghetti was pulling me. My stomach growled hungrily. I opened the door to reveal my mom, dad and Ethan. Mom was at the stove cooking and dad and Ethan were discussing a football game from last night.

"I got the milk." I announced, dejectedly.

"What's wrong with you?" Ethan asked.

"Nothing." I snapped.

All three of them looked at each other.

"Okay, Greg, you and Ethan go inside. Me and Gabriella have things to discuss."

My dad and Ethan stood up and left. I groaned. I wasn't really in the mood to tell my mom about my feelings. I stood up getting ready to go.

"Mom, I'm fine really."

She gave me a knowing look, "Sit."

I sighed, and sat down again. My mom did the same and took the seat facing me.

"Ok, now spill. I want to know what's bothering you." She instructed, giving me a 'you don't have a choice' look.

"Fine. Well, when I went to the shop today to get the milk, like you told me to, I heard someone saying that Embry and Leah were dating... so yeah." I explained, not meeting my mother's eyes.

She had a smirk on her lips when I finally looked up. "And this is bothering you because...?"

I groaned, "Please don't make me say it."

She chuckled, "You still have feelings for Embry huh?"

"Yeah." I admitted.

"Well, I suggest you tell him how you feel before it's too late. His answer might surprise you."

"Mom, I don't think he has feelings for me anymore. He's already moved on anyway; I should just leave him be."

"Are you sure he doesn't have feelings for you anymore? Because from what I saw that night at Emily's house, he surely does."

"That was only because I forgave him."

"Well you'll never know if you don't tell him."

"Why do you always have to be right?"

She laughed, "I'm your mother, and I'm supposed to know what's right when it comes to love. I was a teenager too you know."

"Yeah, like a million years ago."

"Don't push it." She warned.

"Ok, but can you call Danny, Josh and Ethan in here please?"

"Okay. I'm finished cooking now anyway so I can give you guys some privacy."

"Can we eat now?" I asked, hopefully.

"Wait another half an hour."

"Ugh, fine." I grumbled.

She left and a few seconds later I heard footsteps approaching.

"So what's up sis?" Josh asked, enthusiastically.

"Well, I've got a plan but I need your help with it."

"I'm in." Danny agreed.

"I haven't even told you what it is yet." I replied.

"So? I'm already in."

"Ok, well you see... I still have feelings for Embry. So mom suggested that I tell him about it but we all know that I'm not that stupid to tell him about it. So now, I need to think of a plan on how to make Embry jealous. You guys get it?"

"How about you pretend to be dating Ethan? That'll make him jealous." Josh suggested.

"That could work. But I don't know what to do to make it believable. I mean I only do see Ethan as a brother." I replied.

"And of you as an annoying little sister." Ethan spoke up.

"That you love." I added in. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Ok, but we need secret code names. Names so brilliant that nobody will ever guess what it is." Danny said.

"No! That takes so much effort just to think of a name." I countered.

"But it would be cool to have one. Like I could be called Nighthawk or something... maybe even Thunderblade." Josh chimed in.

"Fine. But do NOT think of something stupid." I said.

"Yes!" Josh whooped.

"How about you guys go to Port Angeles today? Then I'll text Embry and make casual talk and it'll 'accidentally' slip out that you're there." Danny planned.

"Sounds good. Now go and do that while I go shower and get ready to go out."

"Oh god! She's going to take all day just to get ready." Ethan groaned.

"Shut up! I'm faster than you." I said stalking off to get ready.

When I climbed out of the shower, I got changed into a button up shirt, jeans, boots and a hoodie. I didn't know what the weather was like in Port Angeles so I wanted to stay on the safe side. I blow dried my hair and didn't bother to do anything else to it.

I walked downstairs where everyone was and found out that they were all eating without me. People nowadays, there's just no manners.

"You guys have the best manners in the world." I commented, grabbing a plate and piling it with spaghetti.

I took a bite from my plate. It tasted delicious; I'm glad Sue had started teaching mom how to cook so we wouldn't have to cook anymore. But sometimes I still cooked, I tried out all the new recipes Emily had taught me and most of the time they turned out really good. But there was this one time I almost set the kitchen in fire because I fell asleep while baking some brownies.

Everyone was silent as we ate, probably because they were all enjoying the food as much as I was.

"This is good." Danny said his mouth full of food.

"I second that. Is there any more?" I added.

"Yeah, in the kitchen." Mom answered.

Just then Danny's phone chimed and he looked at it. He started typing and put the phone back in his pocket, a satisfied look on his face. My own phone went off and I looked at the screen. I had a new message from Danny. It read:

_Dude, I just told Embry that you were going to Port Angeles with Ethan and he said he was going there later on with Leah aswell so he could meet you guys there._

I quickly typed in:

_Kk, tell Ethan I'm good to go after I'm finished eating._

I set the phone on the table and continued to eat, but in a quicker pace that is.

When everyone was finished, I had to wash the dishes then I was allowed to leave. I wondered what would happen today. Would Embry get jealous or would he kiss Leah in front of me? That thought made me want to just throw up my lunch. I pushed it aside and continued to dry off the dishes.

I went outside where Ethan was waiting for me in the car. My dad had lent him his car keys so we could go to Port Angeles without having to call for a cab. Once I stepped in, I was hit with warm waves of heat radiating from the small car heater. It felt nice, especially because it was raining outside and I was freezing. I smiled at Ethan who smiled at me back before I put in my earphones and decided to catch some sleep while Ethan drove there.

I didn't really have a dream as I slept. Maybe because I was nervous about what would happen today. But I had to pretend to be with Ethan; it was the only way to see if Embry really did have any feelings for me still. But what would I do if he didn't. _You'll obviously have to move on then _said a voice in my head. The question was, would I be able to? Or did I love Embry too much to be able to let him be happy? Jeez, I sounded like a mental stalker/crazy person right now.

I was pulled away from my thoughts by someone shaking my shoulder. I stirred and noticed that we were at a mall in Port Angeles and that Ethan was trying to wake me up.

"When did we get here?" I asked, yawning.

"Like a minute ago. I was trying to wake you up but you wouldn't." Ethan explained, "Oh and by the way, Embry's already here with Leah. We have to go meet them. At least that's what Danny's text read."

"Ok, let's go. And remember; you and I are dating so pretend to be lovey-dovey. But don't overdo it." I warned.

"Got it."

We walked in, a small gap between us until I noticed a familiar person. Well two people actually. I quickly grabbed Ethan's arm and put it around my waist. Just in time aswell because Embry looked over.

He smiled brightly at me and I avoided his gaze but not before I got a good look at what he was wearing. Damnit! How was I supposed to act cool?

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hey Gab. What brought you two here?" Leah asked, but there was another tone in her voice. Was it jealousy?

I opened my mouth to reply but Ethan beat me to it.

"Just here to take my girl out." He said, smiling. I forced a smile aswell. Embry looked slightly jealous already so I reached up and planted a kiss in Ethan's cheek. Now he looked VERY jealous and was glaring daggers at Ethan. I tried to hide my smile that was starting to creep out of my lips.

"You guys are together?" Leah asked in a small voice.

"Since last night, yeah." I replied.

"Oh."

"So where do you guys want to go?" I asked, attempting to end the silence that had occurred.

"It's up to you guys." Embry responded, staring at me.

I stared right back at him, "Well you guys are here too, so it isn't just up to us."

"Umm, how about that shoe store you were telling me about?" Ethan suggested.

I looked at him like he had grown another head, "Shoe store?"

"Yeah, remember." He said, giving me a look.

I played along, "Oh yeah. That shoe store."

"Let's go then." Leah said.

Ethan took my hand and we headed in search for the shoe store Ethan was talking about. I've only been here once so how the hell was I supposed to know where all the shops were? Luckily, Ethan spotted a store that looked like it sold decent products so we walked in. There was a greeter person at the door who said hi. I just smiled and walked away quickly. I always felt awkward when people did that. I mean, we all know that they don't give shit about what you're going to do inside the shop.

"What are we going to look for in here?" I whispered in Ethan's ear.

"I don't know. Just pretend to be interested in something." He whispered quietly back.

I spotted a cute looking handbag and walked over to inspect it while Ethan walked the other direction. I felt someone walk up beside me so I turned my head to see who it was. It was Embry. H smiled weakly at me and I forced one back.

"So... how are you and Ethan?" he asked, obviously uncomfortable.

"Good." I replied. It's not like I could just say 'good, we're only doing this so you'll hopefully get jealous and dump Leah to be with me.'

There was a silence between us as none of us had anything to say. Should I ask about him and Leah?

"So... you and Leah huh?" I asked, not meeting his gaze.

"Yeah... it just... happened. I guess I never knew that I loved her."

Those words cut through me like a knife. I winced but quickly recovered. I called out to Ethan who was having a small conversation with Leah.

"Sup?" he asked.

"Nothing, you ready to go? I didn't really see anything I like." _Except for Embry that is. But you can't buy people... well unless they're prostitutes. _I thought.

I snorted at the thought and everyone stared at me like I was crazy. I smiled at them, cringing afterwards. They were probably going to look for a mental hospital now.

We wandered through the mall, going inside shops and just looking around. I did find a cute pair of boots though. We all went to the food court when Ethan said he was hungry.

"You've just ate lunch and you're already hungry?" I said, laughing.

"Hey! You know I've got a big appetite." He said.

"No shit Sherlock. I've seen you eat two big macs in a row back in LA."

We both burst out laughing as we were sitting down at a table. Embry and Leah just sat down silently without saying a word.

"So, what are you guys going to eat?" I asked.

"I don't know. I might get the big daddy over at Kentucky." Ethan answered.

"It's KFC. Why do you call it Kentucky?" I said, rolling my eyes at him.

"Just cuz."

"Just cuz what?"

"No reason." He replied.

"Hey Ethan look, there's a poster for a mental hospital. I think you should write down their number. It could come in handy one day." I said, laughing.

"Oh yeah. I should call now and ask them to take you away." He retorted.

I faked a gasp and hit him, "That's offensive. I think I'll get the salad at McDonald's."

"That's like going to a prostitute for a hug." Ethan commented.

I laughed, my earlier thought going back into my mind. But I wouldn't mind hugging Embry though.

When me and Ethan had finished talking, we turned to Leah and Embry who were just sitting there silently, like they were observing the both of us. I felt like I was in the principal's office at school. This reminds me, I have to ask mom about school; I was graduation soon.

"So... are you guys getting anything?" I asked.

"Yeah, I might get a burger or something." Leah replied. "What about you Em?"

"Uh... maybe a burger aswell." He answered quietly.

"Well I'm going to go to Kentucky now," he said eyeing me as he said this, "anybody coming with?"

"Yeah, me." Leah said, standing up.

They both walked away and I was left at the table with Embry. I noticed Ethan smirking at me out of the corner of my eye. The fucker.

I looked at Embry who was staring back at me and we had a mini staring competition. Eventually, he spoke up.

"So are you going back to school?" he asked, still not breaking eye-contact.

"Yeah, well I think. I'm graduating soon anyway. Then I'm heading off to college." I replied.

"College?" he asked, with wide eyes. "Which college are you planning on going to?"

"I dunno, maybe Florida or LA."

"That's pretty far away..." he commented.

"Yeah, it would be good for a fresh start."

"Have you ever thought of going to colleges in Washington?"

"Maybe... it could be a last option or something." I said, shrugging.

"We're back! Now g and get your food." Ethan announced.

"You're such a gentleman Ethan." I said sarcastically.

"Please, chivalry's dead."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Embry.

"You coming or what?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, just wait." He said, scurrying to get out of his seat.

"What you gonna get?"

"I dunno, maybe a big mac or something." He replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "You?"

"Probably a kids' meal." I said, making Embry laugh.

We cued up and when we got our food, returned to our table to eat.

"A kids' meal Gab? Really?" Ethan asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

"We don't all eat like pigs." I countered back, eyeing his pile of food on the tray.

"I already told you, I have a big appetite."

"And I already told you that we don't all eat like pigs."

Everybody dug into their food and there was the occasional small talk every now and then but we were mostly silent. When we had all finished eating, I decided that it was time to go home.

Today hadn't gone so bad. But I had to think of more ways to make Embry jealous. But how?

**Phew! This was a long chapter! You're welcome :D Now I want to give a heads up, can I get at least two reviews before I update again? Remember to review and Thanks! Xx**


	24. Chapter 24: Never Let You Go

**Ok before I start writing anything, I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you! I asked for two reviews on the last chapter and I got five! FIVE! Thank you to:**

**Twilightlover244**

**Gaaragirl202**

**J1u29**

**Lunalicious24601**

**GalePercyHarry707**

**I appreciate you guys reviewing. Now this chapter was really hard for me to write, especially because I don't know how someone would feel so if I wrote this really poorly, I'm sorry. But enjoy! :) **

**Chapter 24: Never Let You Go.**

_Embry's POV_

"Are you seriously kidding me?" I asked frustrated, pacing back and forth around in the Port Angeles mall.

This really couldn't be happening. I pretended to date Leah only so I could get Gabriella back and Leah could get Ethan but that plan was backfiring on us. And fast. Because we just found out that Ethan had asked Gabriella to be his girlfriend and she had agreed.

"Would you keep it down there? You're not the only one with the problem!" Leah hissed at me from the corner she was standing in.

"Way to state the obvious." I remarked, glaring at her.

"Don't go there." She warned.

Not only was I annoyed that Gabriella wasn't single anymore, it's because I had a bad feeling about Ethan. All day, I noticed that he kept staring at Gabriella and he had this creepy look in his eye that Gabriella hadn't noticed. Not to mention the goosebumps I got when I stood too close to him. But I tried to shake off the feeling, I was probably only like that because he was with my imprint instead of me.

But there was something about that guy. I just couldn't quite keep my finger on it.

"Hey," I said, turning to Leah, "let's go. There's nothing left to do. Let's just follow them home and see if we hear anything suspicious."

"Fine." She grumbled and followed me outside.

We had run to Port Angeles. Partly because I didn't want to have to get gas because I was already low on cash, but also so that we could follow Gabriella's car and just listen to them. We shed our clothes and phased. I took the lead with Leah following closely behind me. I could pick out their scent and followed the trail. But I saw something suspicious... Gabriella's dad's car was parked at the side of the road and the passenger side door was open. Okay weird, now I was getting really creeped out. Just then a blood-curdling scream rose out of the forest and I immediately noticed it as Gabriella's voice. Oh no.

_Gabriella's POV_

"That was awesome! But do you think they bought it?" I asked Ethan curiously, as he started to drive out of the mall's car park.

"Given the glares that Embry was giving me, yep." He replied.

"Good. But we have to think of more ways to make it realistic without it being too touchy-feely." I commented.

Ethan was silent for a few moments when I said this. What was going on? I mean, he did understand that I only saw him as a brother right?

He finally spoke up, "Have you ever considered that maybe, just maybe, that there's someone else out there who loves you?" he asked, his eyes glued to the road ahead.

"Not really... I mean, I don't know. I guess it never really crossed my mind." I answered. Why was he asking me this? It was starting to creep me out.

As I said this, we passed a sign which told us to make a turn to get on the road to forks. But Ethan turned the other direction, the one that led to the woods.

"Uh Ethan... you made the wrong turn. We were supposed to turn the other way." I said after a few moments of silence.

"I know." He replied simply.

"But why are we here?" I asked, getting nervous and nervous with each passing second passing while he continued to drive further and further out into the woods.

He suddenly stopped the car with a halt.

"Why did you drive us here?" I asked.

"So I could tell you how I really feel. What I've been hiding all these years. Gabriella, I love you. I've loved you ever since I turned thirteen, can't you see that? So tell me... do you love me back? I need to know, this is killing me." He asked with questioning eyes.

I gasped. I had always had a hunch that he had a little crush on me but I didn't know that it had been for so long. Why was he telling me this now? I was already in love with someone else and even if I wasn't I just wouldn't be able to see him as something else other than a brother.

"Ethan... you know that I only think of you as a brother. I'm sorry; I just can't imagine myself being with you." I replied, my voice shaking from nervousness.

He banged his fist on the steering wheel, "Damnit Gabriella! What do I have to do to make you not see me as a brother anymore? I love you," he said, inching closer to me and taking my hand in his, "why can't you love me too?"

"I'm sorry," I said, separating my hands from his, "I love Embry, Ethan. Not you. Please understand that; there's a girl meant for you out there and that girl just isn't me. You'll see the perfect girl for you is out there; you just have to look closer."

"But I don't want the perfect girl I want you! And just because you're in love with Embry doesn't mean that that's not going to stop me from making you mine." He said, anger burning in his eyes.

"You can't force me to love you." I said, leaning against the car door.

"Oh really?" he asked, coming closer and closer to me. "Because I can do whatever I want." He said, touching my thigh.

"Get away from me!" I yelled, slapping his hand away from me and running out of the car and into the woods.

I just ran, ran as fast as my legs would take me. I knew it was stupid to go further off into the woods but what could I do? I couldn't stay in the car and risk finding out what Ethan wanted to do with me. I screamed out help, even though nobody could hear me since I was so deep into the woods. I just wished I wouldn't come across a bear or something. That would be really bad timing.

"Gabriella! I'm coming for you." Ethan's voice called out after me.

My heart was pounding so hard against my chest that I thought it would jump out sooner or later. I was starting to hyperventilate and I couldn't control myself; I was going into panic mode. Why did the bad things always happen to me? I was really convinced that Fate didn't want me to be happy. I was running out of breath so I stopped and hid behind a tree. I closed my eyes and pretended this was all a dream; A dream that I was going to wake up from any moment now.

I tried to even out my breathing and keep calm. Surely this was just a joke right? A joke that Ethan thought would be funny to pull on me. All of a sudden his voice stopped calling out to me. I opened my closed eyes and peeked from the side of the tree. I didn't see anybody there. Just trees and a small squirrel running up a branch.

I breathed out a sigh of relief only to feel a hand clamp down onto my mouth. I tried to get out a scream but the hand just kept applying more and more pressure, making it harder and harder for me to breathe.

"I don't like playing games Gab. So stop trying to get away from me because it's no use. You ran to deep into the woods for anyone to hear you now." Ethan whispered in my ear. "I've always been invisible in your eyes right? Well not anymore."

A single tear rolled down my cheek as he started kissing my neck. Was this it? I was going to get raped by one of the people I trusted the most? He threw me onto the ground and I hit my knee on a tree branch. I moaned out in pain. He started taking off his shirt and reached down to me again. He was about to reach for the hem of my shirt so I closed my eyes and got myself ready for the pain... But it never arrived.

I opened my eyes and saw Embry grabbing Ethan's arm and punching him square in the face.

"Don't you ever touch her!" he yelled out to Ethan, starting to shake from anger.

I watched in shock as Ethan fell limply to the ground and Embry walked over to me, sadness in his chocolate, brown eyes. He knelt beside me and took me into his lap and wrapped his warm, strong arms around me. I had always loved it when he did that. It made me feel warm and safe and loved. I gripped onto his arms and refused to ever let go.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Gab." He whispered soothingly in my ear as he ran his fingers through my hair.

I let the tears come out. The sobs escaped my lips and soon my body was racking from my loud sobs. I saw Ethan get up from the forest floor and run away as Leah watched him, a heartbroken expression evident on her face.

She looked over at me with sad eyes and I looked at her through my tears.

"Leah, get the car started, we're going." Embry ordered. She simply nodded at him and ran away.

"Come on, I'll take you home." Embry said gently, looking me dead in the eye. I cowered into him even more as he picked me up bridal style and carried me to the car.

Leah was already in the driver's seat, getting ready to leave.

"What about Ethan?" she asked with a pained voice.

I winced at the mention if his name which made Embry growl.

"Leave him. When we get back to La Push tell Sam and the guys what happened and they'll look for him then. After, take him to the police station." Embry answered with an authoritive and bitter tone.

Embry took me to the seats in the back and cradled me in his warm arms. But no matter how comfortable I was, I couldn't get the memory of what almost happened out of my brain. It's like it wanted to torture me endlessly with that memory.

"Shhh..." Embry whispered, his warm breath tickling my ear. He started humming then and the darkness slowly consumed me.

"What happened? Where's Ethan?" A seemingly distant voice asked.

"I'll explain later, but now I need to take Gabriella back to bed." Embry answered.

I was carried up the stairs by Embry and was soon tucked into my bed. I hugged the covers and let the tears fall once more onto my pillow. Embry tried to pull his hand away from mine but I just tightened my grip. I didn't want him to leave me; not yet. I opened my eyes slowly and looked at Embry who had worry lines all over his beautiful face. His eyes held so much anger and sadness in them that I just wanted to hold him and kiss it all away.

"Don't leave me." I whispered my voice hoarse from the lack of water. "Please." I begged.

"Never Gabriella. I'd never let you go." Came his reply before he pulled back my covers and climbed into the bed with me.

I could faintly hear my mom crying outside my room and Leah trying to explain what happened as her sobs continued. Why was I constantly hurting the people that were most important to me? Just think, earlier today we were all smiles, laughing and enjoying each other's company. But now we were all either in tears or upset about what happened. Why couldn't I do anything right?

As the tears kept falling, Embry's arms tightened around me before he said, "I'll never let you go."

That was the last thing I remembered before I fell into a deep sleep in Embry's warm and loving arms.

**Yeah, I know. Short right? But at least I updated! Happy late Easter to all you guys reading :) Can I get at least two reviews by my next update again? Embry or Seth or whoever you want will give you a computer hug ;) Remember to review and Thanks! Xx**


	25. Chapter 25: Penny For Your Thoughts

**Ok, so I know that I haven't updated as recently as I do but it's because I was sick so I couldn't really do anything about that. But now that I'm better, I can update again! :) So enjoy! **

**Chapter 25: Penny For Your Thoughts. **

_Gabriella's POV_

Have you ever had the feeling of betrayal? It feels awful doesn't it? Like, someone plunging a rusty knife directly into your heart. Well, that's exactly how I felt. I couldn't believe that one of the people that I trusted the most had tried to hurt me. It's like fate wanted to play some sick, twisted joke on my life.

Ethan, he was the traitor. I had thought that he was just playing around; trying to be funny you know? But it turned out to be something more serious than that. I can't believe I never noticed that he had had feelings for me. I mean, I should've seen it coming. It's like in movies; two best friends, one of them falls for the other and they eventually have a happy ending, the end. But since it was my story, there was a different ending. There was no happy ending... all because Ethan had tried to rape me.

Who was my prince charming now? _Embry_ my mind answered for me. My heart skipped a beat just by the mention of his name. Embry, the boy I had met while dating one of his friends, Seth. The boy who had made me fall for him but broke my heart in the end. The boy I still loved after all the heartache he caused me. But most importantly, he was the boy who had saved me from Ethan. He was the boy who held me in his arms last night, rocking me back and forth, trying to calm me down while I cried my heart out into his chest.

I never had anyone care for me like that before. I mean sure, I had my parents but they didn't exactly hold me in their arms; not that I would want them to that is. And my brothers, they didn't do that for me and not my best friends. I had insisted that he should go home when it had got really dark but he had refused. He only left earlier this morning for school.

My brothers and sisters had all went aswell so it was just me, mom and dad in the house. And I didn't really want to talk to them about how I was feeling. So here I was sitting on my bed, thinking about how messed up my life really was. But I had to somehow try and snap out of it. Christmas was just a few days away and I couldn't stand it if I ruined Christmas for everybody. I had ruined enough already. Not to mention that Alex and her family were arriving.

Finally, something inside me snapped and I felt the urge to just scream out all my frustrations. And what better place to do that than in the woods. I walked over to my closet and threw on the first piece of clothing that I could find. I then rushed downstairs and said a quick goodbye to my parents who were watching TV and ran out to our backyard that led to the woods.

I eventually slowed down to a walking pace once I was deep enough inside. I looked around at all my surroundings; the trees, the animals that lived in them and all the habitats I could see. It looked like their life was so peaceful, so why couldn't my life be like that? I had already lost the need to scream so I just wandered around the forest, lost in my thoughts. I felt an animal's warm breath on the back of my neck and I slowly spun around. There standing behind me, was Wolfie.

I smiled happily and wrapped my arms around his huge neck as I buried my face into his soft fur.

"I missed you." I whispered. I felt him nudge my shoulder gently and I smiled into his fur.

I led him to a tree and slumped to the ground while he sat staring at me, his tongue hanging out. I laughed at him.

"You look like a dog." I said happily, and he licked my face. "Eww!" I said, before laughing.

I stroked his fur as we just stared at each other. I got lost in his eyes just as much as I got lost in Embry's. They were the same chocolate brown that Embry's was and they held the same passion in them.

"So how you been? I haven't seen you in a while huh? A lot of things happened to me." I said.

"Do you want to know?" I asked, even though I knew that he couldn't understand me. "Well, you see my friend Ethan? I asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend so I could make this boy Embry, that I like, jealous. But he tried to hurt me instead. He chased after me but Embry came and saved me." I explained, while little snippets of what happened flashed through my eyes.

I closed my eyes and shook my head to make them disappear as I continued, "Then, Embry took me home and I cried. He stayed there with me all night, making me feel safe and warm." I said, smiling at the memory. "I guess people just aren't who they seem to be huh?" I said, shrugging my shoulders weakly. Wolfie bowed his head and I ran my hands through the fur between his two ears.

"You'll never leave me will you? You'll be like Embry; always there for me. I wish you were human Wolfie, that way I could talk to you all the time and you could help me with Embry. I still love him. Even after he hurt me with... Jasmine I still love him." I said, choking on the word Jasmine. "Is that weird?"

Wolfie shook his huge head and looked at me with hurt eyes; like he could feel my pain.

"But I guess he doesn't love me anymore; he's got Leah now. I guess I'm too late now aren't I? Who would want to be with me anyway? I ruin things for everyone and I'm not anything special. I'm not even that pretty. I guess I can understand why Embry wanted Jasmine over me now." I said sadly, sighing afterwards.

The wolf whimpered at me and I looked straight into it's eyes. It held so much sadness and pain in them that I just wanted to hold him and make the pain go away if I could.

"Why are you sad? Do you not want to be with me?" I asked. Wolfie whimpered even more and put his head on my shoulder. I felt something wet fall onto my shoulder and I pulled back. There were tears in his eyes and my heart hurt. I brushed away his tears with my thumb and held his huge head in my hands. I hummed to him as he slowly started to sink to the ground until his whole body was on my lap.

We stayed in that pose for several moments. I just stroked his fur gently as he continued to lay his head on my lap. It felt nice just to sit there and be filled with serenity. That didn't happen too much in my life. It was always busy and filled with drama and problems.

Just then I heard the crunch of leaves and I gasped as I saw another huge wolf approach. It was jet black unlike Wolfie's which was grey with dark spots on his back. It bared its teeth at Wolfie and he stood up and growled at him. I stood up aswell and stood beside him as I looked at the black wolf with curious eyes.

"Is he part of your pack Wolfie?" I whispered into his ear.

He turned to me and nodded his head. "I should go then. I'll see you around." I said, as I placed a small kiss in his cheek.

I walked away carefully as I looked at jet black wolf, being cautious in case it attacked me. It left me alone though but my insides were still in a twist. Luckily, I hadn't wandered into the woods as far as I thought and ended up at my house soon enough. I walked through the door and saw my mom at the stove. She spun her head round in my direction and offered me a small smile.

"Hey honey." She greeted.

"Hey. I'm going up to my room." I said, reaching for the doorknob.

"Don't you want any food?" she asked worriedly, "You haven't eaten since yesterday."

"I'm fine. I don't have an appetite right now. I'm going to school tomorrow by the way." I said quietly and slipped through the door.

I saw my dad reading a newspaper and smiled at him while he looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

"Sam called, they say they didn't find Et- him in the woods." He said, stopping before he said his name but I winced nevertheless.

"Oh." I replied. "I'm going up."

I trudged up the stairs as my siblings came in through the door, laughing and joking around. I wished my life was as simple as theirs. We were all related by blood so why wasn't I like them? They all stopped laughing when they saw me by the stairs and looked at me with sympathy. That made me furious; I didn't want their sympathetic stares.

"Don't look at me like that." I warned, before I bounded up the stairs.

"Gab!" someone called after me but I ignored them. I just wanted to be alone anyway.

I entered my room and sighed. I wouldn't be able to avoid Asia; we did share a room anyway. I got out of my hoodie and dropped onto the bed with a deep sigh. I just wanted the day to be over already. My phone started ringing and I looked over at it. Who could be calling me?

"Hello?" I said.

"Gab? It's Embry."

"Oh... hi."

"I just wanted to see how you were? You know after..." he said, trailing off.

"I'm fine. Just did a lot of thinking you know. How was school?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"Boring. When you coming in?"

"Tomorrow, I think."

"I'll come pick you up if you want?" he offered, sounding unsure.

I was about to ask him about Leah but realised that she was already out of school. "Sounds good."

"You excited about school tomorrow?"

I snorted, "Yeah, as much excitement I have for doing work and being yelled at by teachers then seeing..." I was about to say Jasmine but stopped.

"Well, umm... I should go. Take care Gab." He said.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

_The next morning..._

I sat on my bed staring at the clock. It was only five minutes until Embry was coming by and I just couldn't wait. I reminded myself that he was with Leah but that didn't work either. I don't even know why I still loved him anyway; he had cheated on my anyway, what's to say he wouldn't do it again?

Just then I heard a car park out front and I jumped up as Asia walked in.

"Why are you so jumpy?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Umm... just nervous for school you know."

"Well, I have to warn you. While you were away, Jasmine was..." she started before I interrupted.

"I don't care about her." I snapped.

"Okay then, I was just going to say that she-." She said before I glared at her.

Someone knocked on the front door and I barged passed Asia to get it. She just put me in a bad mood. Great right? Note the sarcasm.

I swung open the door to reveal Embry who was smiling widely at me.

" ready to go?" he asked.

"Uh yeah sure." I replied, stepping out and closing the door before following him out to his car.

Embry opened my door for me but stopped me just as I was about to get in. He handed me a card and a bear and I looked at him questioningly.

"Umm... what are these for?" I asked.

"For you. I was supposed to give them before you left for LA but..." he trailed off.

"Thank you." I responded quietly and bowed my head down while getting into the car.

Why did I ever agree to getting a lift from Embry to school? _Because you're an idiot! _

The short ride was filled with tension as I stared down at the card and bear he had given me. It was pretty sweet actually but why give it now?

I cleared my throat to speak, "Why did you give this to me Embry? It was ages ago and I've already forgiven you."

"Because I bought them for you and only you. I wasn't going to give them to any else but you."

"Well, can I keep it in your car until the end of the day then I'll come pick it up?" I asked.

"I'm giving you a ride home though." He said, looking over at me while I looked at him with a confused expression.

"You are?"

"Yep." He said, giving me one of his heart-stopping smiles. He reached over and tucked a strand of loose hair behind my ear. "You're beautiful you know that?"

"Oh." I said blushing. "I'm not really."

"You are. You just don't know it yet."

We arrived at school and I was surprised to see that I had actually missed it. Imagine missing a school! I was really starting to lose my mind.

"What have you got first period?" he asked, looking over at my timetable.

"Chemistry."

"Great! We're in the same classes today." He said happily.

I laughed as we walked inside and I went to my locker.

"I'll see you in class." I said as he headed to his locker.

"Okay, don't be late!" he said, winking at me.

"Okay." I said, looking away before I fainted in the middle of the corridor.

I was just scanning through my locker looking for the right books when someone coughed loudly behind me. I closed my locker to see the last person I wanted to see at the moment with her 'minions'.

I groaned, "What do you want?"

"Why are you back?" Jasmine asked coldly all the while glaring at me.

"I'm aloud back, you know after you were a home wrecker and ruined my relationship with Embry." I replied, smirking at her.

"Oh yeah. It was fun and you know you deserved it after he dumped me for someone like you." She said with disgust.

"Well, I've always wanted to do something." I said.

"What's that?" she asked, blowing on her nails looking bored as ever.

I smiled sweetly at her before I lifted my hand and slapped her on the face. Hard. I smiled as she held her cheek in pain and walked to my next class. It felt good to slap her. She finally got what she deserved.

**This was short I know but I needed to go somewhere so I was kind of rushing this just so I could update and it's not my best chapter either but please forgive me! Btw Gab and Embry are getting back together soon! I'm so excited! I've already planned the chapter out and it's going to be called A Christmas Miracle. :D but I don't want you guys waiting so how about whoever reviews gets a sneak peek of the chapter? ;) Sound good? Well okay then. Remember to review and thanks! Xx**


	26. Chapter 26: School Life

**Ok, so I don't really have anything to say so I'm just going to go ahead with the chapter. Enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 26: School Life.**

_Gabriella's POV_

I walked to class feeling ecstatic with a smug smile on my face. It felt so good to slap Jasmine in the face; she was the one who caused me pain after all. I tried to stop smiling as I entered class but to no avail. The teacher was still busy typing away on her small computer, pushing up her glasses every now and then, all the students were messing about and here I was confused about where to sit. I noticed Danny at a table chatting up some girls with I think his name was Quil.

I waved over to him and he smiled brightly at me before acting all flirty with the girls again. I rolled my eyes at him and made my way over to the teacher.

"Hi miss." I said.

"Oh, hi. I assume you're Gabriella? The new student?" she asked, not taking her eyes of the screen.

"Yep, the one and only." I answered.

"Well, you'll be seated right next to Mr Call over there. I'm sure he will be kind enough to explain what you'll need for class." She instructed, making a fluttery gesture with her hand to where Embry was sitting.

"Thanks." I said, walking over to Embry's table. "So partner, apparently you have to explain stuff to me."

He raised an eyebrow at me as he smirked, "Explain what?"

"I don't know, I wasn't really listening."

"Well, that's just helpful Gab."

"I know, isn't it?" I said as he chuckled.

The teacher announced that we were starting class and everyone scooted to their seats. The door opened and in walked Jasmine, an icepack against her left cheek. I couldn't help but snort as Embry looked over at me, a confused expression on his face.

"I'll tell you later." I explained and he nodded his head in agreement.

"Ok class, I thought it would be a good idea to give you all group projects to work on during your Christmas Break. I'm giving you enough time to work on them so I don't want to hear any excuses. There will be two people in each group and one person will step up and pick a topic from this hat. Got it?" the teacher said, as the entire class groaned and she had a miffed expression on her face, muttering something incoherent as she stalked back over to her desk.

I looked over at Jasmine who was staring right back at me. We glared at each other and I noticed that she was sitting beside Danny. Just my luck. She smirked at me before gripping Danny's chin and pecked him on the lips. Danny looked over at her with an incredulous expression and scooted his chair further than it already was.

"Ok, so your partner will be whoever you're sitting beside; now I don't want to hear any complaints. You take what you get." The teacher said solemnly.

"Great." I muttered under my breath.

"What, you don't want to work with me?" Embry mocked gasp.

"Well, unless you're willing to do all the work I guess I don't mind." I teased, playing along.

He gasped, "Why me? It's usually the boys who chill while the girls do all the work for them. I'll just sign my name onto the project."

"Well, if that's what you were expecting, you're sadly mistaken." I replied, an eyebrow raised.

He pouted and I couldn't help but laugh at how cute he looked. "But Gab!" he whined, "I'm not good at Chemistry."

I scoffed, "And you thought I would be?"

"Well, kinda yeah."

I was just about to reply when the teacher interfered. "Miss Russo, please come on up and pick your topic."

I sighed and walked over to her. I was really hoping that we got an easy topic so I wouldn't have to do too much hard work. I reached my hand into the hat and looked at the small piece of paper. It read: _Chemical equations. _

I showed her the slip and she handed me a sheet, "You will have to balance out the equations." She clarified as she took in my confused expression.

I walked back over to Embry and handed him the sheet, "Looks easy enough Emb."

"Emb?" he asked.

"What?" I said confused about what was wrong.

He shook his head, "Nothing Gab. Now back to chemical equations."

"Yay! We're going to have so much fun figuring these out." I responded with fake enthusiasm.

We glanced down at the sheet and I started biting my pen; one of my habits when I was trying to do school work. Embry looked at the sheet with such a look of concentration that I was tempted to ask if he was trying to shit his pants or something. I started flicking my pen between my fingers but somehow managed to flick it halfway across the room. I groaned and stood up to retrieve my pen. I bent down to pick it up and returned to my seat. But I didn't notice the small puddle of water on the floor and slipped. Embry grabbed my wrist but also lost his balance so he fell on top of me.

Our skin made contact with each other and my skin started to have this tingly feeling from where his touched. We looked into each other's eyes, dazed. It felt like we were the only two people that existed right now as I got lost in his brown eyes. I heard the teacher coughing and I snapped out of it. Embry stood up and took me up along with him. We returned to our seats, me blushing uncontrollably. I opened my notepad and started writing down the equations but got stuck. I looked over at Embry's notes and saw that he was whizzing through them. _So much for not being good at them _I thought as I started copying his notes and he smirked over at me. The bell finally went, ending the awkward silence that had crept over us. I packed my stuff and made my way to the door.

"What class do you have next?" Danny asked, as I bumped into him on the way out.

"Algebra." I replied.

"Cool, I'm in that with you aren't I?" Danny said.

"Unfortunately." I said jokingly, which earned me a light push from Danny.

"Hey Gab! Wait up!" Embry called after me with Quil. "Hey Danny."

"Hey." Danny replied, he was still quite bummed at Embry after the whole Jasmine issue.

"So... you and Jasmine huh?" Quil teased.

"Once I'm dead it's a possibility." Danny responded, rolling his eyes.

They walked on ahead of me and Embry and we walked together. Jasmine barged past us, elbowing me 'accidentally.

"Oh, sorry." She said, glaring at me.

"How's your cheek Jasmine?" I asked innocently, fighting the smile that was starting to appear on my lips.

She huffed and stalked off, flipping her straight hair behind her as her two minions ran after her.

"So what exactly did you do to her?" Embry asked as we walked up the stairs.

"Oh nothing... you know, just slapped her." I answered, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.

Embry looked at me with wide eyes, "You what?"

"Slapped her."

"Why?"

"Because she deserved it, duh!"

"I mean, I love that you slapped her but didn't she say anything back?"

"Nope. And why are you so worried anyway?"

"I'm not worried!"

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

"So how are you and Leah?" I asked, curious.

He looked hesitant about answering the question, "Okay."

We were silent for a few moments until we reached the classroom. We walked in and everyone was standing up. We joined everybody as the teacher looked at us all up and down individually. Pervy much?

"Ah, Gabriella. Good to have you back, tell me why did you leave?" The teacher, Mr Dean, asked.

"Oh, just the slut and cheating boyfriend thing." I answered eyeing Jasmine who cringed. I felt Embry stiffen next to me and remembered that he was really sensitive about the whole issue. I really didn't know why because it was his fault in the first pace but dropped it.

"It's always that reason. But anyway, I have arranged new seating for everyone so please sit down immediately once I call out your name." Mr Dean instructed.

"Okay, Embry take the first seat in the first row with Quil please."

Embry walked over to the seat and high-fived Quil. Danny was chosen to sit beside Toby. I remembered him; he was the guy I used to sit beside in English.

"Gabriella you will sit in the second row at the first table with Jasmine."

My mouth dropped open as I'm sure hers did. Was he fucking kidding me? He chose to put me beside Jasmine of all the other people in the class? I begrudgingly took my seat and glared at the board in front of me.

"Gabriella, do you not like your seat?" Mr Dean asked.

"No, it's fun to have to sit beside the slut I was telling you about." I answered sarcastically.

"Oh, well I'm sorry. I can't change your seat, it's too late." He said, with apologetic eyes. Well sorry isn't going to change things now, is it?

I had to sit beside Jasmine for a full hour? One hour? I might aswell be dead. _This should be fun _I thought.

Mr Dean finished giving out the seat arrangements and started explaining what we work going to be working on today. I hadn't really missed that much, in fact I was actually ahead of them but I hadn't really payed attention in class back in LA so it felt like I was still on their topic. He started handing out sheets that we were supposed to work on and everyone started while I just stared blankly at the sheet. I didn't know what to do and I was NOT about to ask the she-devil right beside me. I looked over to my left where Embry was seated and gave him pleading eyes. He just shook his head and carried on. I sighed and attempted to do the work.

I suddenly felt a kick on my leg and winced in pain. I glared at Jasmine and kicked her back harder. She let out a tiny yelp and Mr Dean looked over at us skeptically. I tried to look as innocent as possible and he rolled his eyes and glued his eyes back to the computer.

Jasmine quickly composed herself and looked back down at the sheet. I pretended to casually reach into my bag but dug my hand into Jasmine's instead. I found her phone easily enough and abruptly threw the small device in my bag. I smiled happily at myself and continued on with my work.

The class went by quickly and before I knew it the bell was ringing for lunch. I sighed in relief and stood up, packed my belongings quickly and walked over to Embry's table.

"That was torture!" I hissed in frustration as Embry chuckled.

"It couldn't be that bad." Embry remarked.

"But it was! She kicked my leg and she's just... Ugh!"

"Come on, a little food might make you better." Embry said and led me to the cafeteria.

We sauntered through the halls until we reached the cafeteria. It was already filled with students and was noisy as ever.

"Come on over to our table." Embry said, a gleam in his eye.

"Uh, no, I'll be the only girl there!" I responded.

"No you won't, Kim's there with Jared. Please." He begged.

I sighed and let him drag me to the table that was occupied with Quil, Jacob, Paul, Jared, Kim and Seth. Oh boy.

"Hey, look who's come to join us!" Embry announced as I took the seat next to him and Jacob.

"Hey." They all greeted before continuing to stuff their faces into the pile of food on the tray.

I eyed the mountain high pile of food that they boys were currently eating and took my own food out. I looked like an anorexic compared to them. All I had for lunch was a small chocolate bar and a can of soda.

"Is that all you're going to eat?" Kim asked as she stared disbelievingly at my lunch.

"Yeah, I'm not really hungry." I answered, as I started nibbling on the chocolate and taking a sip of my drink.

"Not hungry? Why not?" Embry asked, his mouth full of food.

"Eww! Close your mouth. And yes, I know it seems impossible compared to you guys but I don't really have an appetite." I said, throwing as napkin in Embry's way so he could wipe his mouth.

"It's not healthy to not eat lunch." Jacob commented.

I shrugged, "It's normal for me, I don't eat that much at home anyway. Well, unless my parents force me too but that's it."

"I'd die without food!" Paul said, as he took another large bite of his sandwich, "Food is like my life."

"Aww, are you admitting you're a loner?" I teased, pouting my lips.

He rolled his eyes in response, "No, I mean that I love food."

"But-." I started before I was interrupted by Kim.

"Do you guys want to do secret Santa?" she asked enthusiastically.

"But isn't it like two days before Christmas?" Quil asked.

"Yeah, but it's easy to buy a gift." She said.

A phone rang in my bag and I reached in to retrieve it. It was Jasmine's and I set it on the table.

"Isn't that Jasmine's?" Quil asked as he stared at the phone.

"Yep. I took it because she was annoying me in class." I answered.

"If she finds out there's going to be a cat fight." Paul warned.

"So? I'm not scared of her." I remarked. "I already slapped her this morning anyway."

Everyone stopped eating and started at me with disbelief in their wide eyes.

"You what?" Jared asked, "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"No, I just gave her what she deserved." I said.

"But she'll start spreading rumours about you." Kim added, looking anxious.

I snorted, "Only someone stupid would believe those rumours. Besides, I've got better things to be worried about."

"Baddass!" Paul said as he high-fived me. "You should tell Leah that. She'd be proud of you and it might snap her out of her pissy mood lately."

"You better watch your back though." Quil said.

Everyone went back to eating and I stared at Embry as he did with me. I was wondering why Leah was in a pissy mood; was that why Embry was hesitant to answer my questions this morning? Were they in a fight? I smiled at him and I noticed Jasmine walking up to the table. I quickly hid the phone and faced her.

"That was something you pulled back in class." She said, her eyes narrowing in my direction. Everyone stopped eating again and was listening intently to our conversation. "I mean, YOU are the slut after all."

I snorted and stood up to face her. "Well, that's ok. Because at least I'm not a bitch trying to get laid."

I heard Paul and Quil struggling to keep their laughter in and saw Embry smiling at me encouragingly form the corner of my eye.

Jasmine scoffed and lifted her hand to slap me but Embry caught her wrist just as it was inches away from my face.

"You better watch what you're about o do or Gabriella won't be the only slapping you today." He spat as he glared at her.

She cowered under his glare and pulled her hand back to her side before walking away, looking frightened as she did so.

Everyone at the table then let out their contained laughter and I smiled victoriously as I sat down.

"That was a good one." Paul commented, gaining his breath back from his laughter.

"Yeah, but back to secret Santa. I've already put everyone's name in this small bag including Sam, Emily, Leah and your brothers Josh, Danny, Andrew and Jasper plus your sisters Asia, Jilliane and Irish." Kim informed me.

"Ok, me first!" I exclaimed as I dug my hand into the small bag.

I looked at small piece of folded paper and gasped as I saw the name that was written. It said _Seth. _Oh shit.

Embry looked over at me concerned but I smiled back to reassure him.

"Has everyone got theirs? I'll ask the others to do the same when I see them later on." Kim explained.

The ball went which meant that lunch was over. I only had three more classes until it was time to go home. History, Art and Music. Unfortunately, Embry wasn't in my history class.

I walked to the second floor where my history class was situated at and saw Seth walking into the classroom. I groaned; was this really happening to me today? I took a deep breath as I walked into class and took the only seat left; beside Seth. Danny was also in this class but he sat beside some other dude I didn't know.

Seth watched me as I made my way to the seat. I offered a small smile which he returned with a big grin. I took the seat and the teacher walked over to me.

"Miss Russo, if I'm correct?" he asked gruffly.

I nodded and he handed me a textbook and notepad, "Luckily for you we'll be starting a new topic so you won't have to be confused." I snorted when he said lucky. If only he knew.

"Okay." He smiled and walked back to his desk at the front of the room.

"He seems creepy." I whispered at Seth who laughed.

"Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet." He responded.

I decided to swallow my pride... for now; I mean, what good would it do me if I just ignored Seth the whole class? Oh yeah, that's right. None.

The teacher introduced the topic of Henry VIII and the whole class groaned. I couldn't blame them. Who wanted to know about a fat English guy who had six wives and killed some of them when he got bored with them? Talk about a jerk.

I zoned out and started copying the notes he was writing on the board. They were pretty long notes and since this was only a single class, it ended quickly.

The rest of the day passed quickly and before I knew it, the last bell was ringing for the end of school. I was walking out of the building and waving bye to my siblings who were going to be driven home by Danny. I saw Embry waiting for me by his car and grinned at him. His face brightened up and he opened the door for me as I laughed as his silliness.

"I can open my own door you know?" I teased.

"Yeah, but I would be more of a gentleman if I opened it for you." He replied, smiling smugly.

"Won't Leah mind?" I asked as he visibly stiffened.

"No." He said quietly. "We're not even together anymore." I gasped and faced the road ahead. So they were having problems?

He pulled up outside my house and I got out carrying the presents he had given me this morning.

"Oh Embry, I'm not coming in on last day tomorrow. I have to pick up my cousins at the airport. I'll see you at Emily's house on Christmas Eve though, maybe sooner, I don't know." I said.

"Okay, I'll text you." He responded before driving away.

I smiled as I walked inside and made my way to my bedroom upstairs. I couldn't wait for Christmas! I just hoped everything went smoothly though; I mean, with my cousins arriving and Seth seeing Alex plus Embry and Leah breaking up... who knows what would happen?

**So, it's my last day of Easter break and I have school tomorrow :/ I still don't have anything else to say so yeah... Remember to review and Thanks! Xx**


	27. Chapter 27: A Christmas Miracle

**So I'm on 40+ reviews! I just want to thank you guys for the support you give me on this story :) Btw I was supposed to update earlier but I studied for a test that got cancelled -.- stupid teachers. But anyway, enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 27: A Christmas Miracle. **

_Gabriella's POV_

So, usually when people think of Christmas it's full of presents, happiness and all that stuff right? Unless you're Russo of course, then that means your Christmas is filled with fighting and yelling and all that. So you can imagine why when it was the night before Christmas Eve I was dreading Christmas. Especially because my cousins from New York were arriving meaning it would be more hectic than usual.

I was forced to wake up early today at just six o'clock and it was totally uncalled for because I was missing the last day of school today which meant a I should've been able to sleep in. But here we were, at Port Angeles airport, waiting for Alex and her family to arrive. I was busy entertaining myself with a piece of string that I had ripped from the top I was wearing while everyone else was too busty eating. I wasn't really a morning person so wasn't in the mood for eating.

Suddenly, a person announced on the loudspeaker that the New York plane had just departed so we made our way to the arrivals gate. I saw loads of other random people running at their loved ones and I even saw this girl running up to a boy in about his mid 20's and they just kissed in the middle of the airport without a care in the world. It kind of reminded me of Embry and me. Speaking of which, he had already texted me nine times ever since I woke up. And he's supposed to be in school mind you.

I saw a familiar but tired looking face walking with a small bag and my face broke out into a smile.

"Alex!" I yelled as I ran to her.

My body collided with hers with a somewhat large force and almost sent her flying to the ground. But nevertheless, I wrapped my arms around her and squealed like a little girl.

"Hey, Gab. I can telly you missed me." She remarked, pulling back to smile at me. I realized her face looked somewhat more mature than it had from the last time I saw her. Her jaw was more defined and her cheekbones were slightly higher.

I grinned back at her, "What gave it away?"

"Hmm..." she pretended to think, "I guess it's the fact you look like a little girl getting a Barbie doll or something when you ran up to me." She said before we laughed.

"Gabriella! Wow, you've grown up to become a beautiful young lady." My aunt Teresa said, pulling me into a warm hug. "You and I might have to compete in a beauty pageant someday. Don't get offended when you lose against me though." She teased.

"I'll try not to." I replied, in mock sadness.

I turned my head and saw everyone greeting and hugging each other. I regret what I said earlier; I can't wait for Christmas now!

"Well, should we get you guys something to eat? We'll join you; we waited for you guys so we could all have breakfast together. On us." My mom said

"Free food? I'm in!" My uncle, Jerry, said happily, making everyone laugh.

"Gab!" Justin called, as he lifted me from the ground and spun me around. I giggled and hit him gently until he set me back onto my feet.

"Hey." Max greeted. "So... I heard there are wolves around where you live. Do you think we can hunt one down so I can train it to potty?"

I laughed at his randomness, "You still haven't changed."

"That's a good thing... right?" he asked confused, making the three of us laugh.

"Come on, let's get you some food. You need it." Justin said, slinging his arm around Max's shoulders.

"So, how are you and Embry?" she asked casually, when everyone was far ahead of us so they wouldn't hear.

"Good." I responded quietly.

She raised an eyebrow at me, "Has he broken up with Leah yet?"

I groaned. It's times like this when I regret ever saying anything to her. "Yes, now can we please not talk about this now?"

"Fine. But you better tell me the details later." She warned, as we followed everybody into a small cafe to have breakfast.

My parents all ordered the big breakfast which contained food like toast, sausages, bacon etc. Me and Alex sat in a small table for two, away from everyone so we could talk in private.

I was trying to chew my bacon while Alex watched. I shifted around uncomfortably in my seat. "What?"

"Details. Now!" she said.

"Fine. Embry and Leah have broken up now so Embry's single, the end." I explained quickly. She looked at me with an avid expression and I smiled innocently at her.

She raised an eyebrow, "There's something you're not telling me. What is it?"

I was dreading that question, "Well, it's just that... well..." I stuttered, trying to find the right words to say, "Seth's been asking about you."

She stiffened at my reply and started poking at her plate of food, "Oh."

We sat in silence as we finished consuming our breakfast. When the waitress took our plates away we started at each other, "That's why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you'd act that way." I said.

"Act like what? Why doesn't he get the point of go away? I already told him to and I would never date your ex." She said, looking fairly disgusted just at the thought of it.

"Alex... I've moved on from him. You can date him if you want to."

She scoffed, "What makes you think I would date him even if I could?"

"Well, it's because of the fact that you're acting uncomfortable right now and you're fiddling with your fingers; a habit of your whenever you're lying to me."

"I hate how you know me." She said.

I laughed and stood up as we walked with everybody to the car. My dad had rented a car because our one car wouldn't fit everybody; he took the boys while mom took the girls.

We all buckled up as she started the hour and a half long ride back home.

"So, how's La Push?" Teresa asked, looking curious.

"Good; all the locals are really friendly and nice. The kids seem to be getting along with everybody except for maybe on one or two occasions but other than that, good." My mom replied, looking at me in the mirror as she said the last part of the sentence.

I averted my eyes form her and leaned my head on Alex's shoulder as I promptly fell asleep. I was still really tired from getting up early; you can't blame me for sleeping.

I barely remember being shook awake by Alex, saying that we were here or something. I shot up, feeling like I had just been electrocuted or something. The door on my side opened to reveal a dejected looking Leah. I looked at her confused; why was she here? And then I remembered she had already graduated. Now it made more sense.

"Hey." I said quietly; we still weren't as close as before.

"Hey, do you need any help carrying anything?" she offered.

"Nah, we're all good. The boys can carry the rest of our stuff." Alex responded.

"Oh, well I'll just be inside." She said, sounding upset as she walked back inside. I sighed; it was probably because of her break up with Embry. If it was because of Jasmine or something I was going to have to murder someone.

"Let's go. It's cold outside." I said, as I pulled Alex inside the warm house. All the adults were in the dining room, chatting away which left us 'children', as dad put it, in the living room.

I plopped down onto the seat beside Alex while everyone else either sat on the floor or other remaining chairs.

"So, have you guys been cliff diving yet? I heard you're allowed to do that here?" Max asked happily. I really think he was dropped on the head as a young child.

"Why would you ever jump off a cliff? That's just... moronic." Justin commented.

"No it's not! It's like a rush when you're falling." Danny chimed in. I raised an eyebrow at him; ever since when had he gone cliff diving?

"And you would know because...?" I trailed off, expecting an answer.

"Because I went with Paul and Jared when you were away for the three months." He explained. That would explain why I didn't know about it.

"Hey guys, is it just me or whenever you think of swimming, you think of the song from Finding Nemo? You know the one 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming'." Max asked.

"Yeah!" Josh answered enthusiastically. "I love that song; it's stuck in my head now that you've mentioned it."

"Imagine if you walked in and granny Maggie was sitting in the bathtub singing that." Max added as an afterthought.

We all stared at him in horror, me shuddering from the mental image that was placed in my head.

"Max! That's NOT a legitimate saying!" Justin said, recovering from his laughter.

"Yeah, that's going to keep me up at night now!" Danny added.

"Well I'm not going to be able to look at granny in the eye anymore." I groaned.

"Well, it's a good thing I'll be able to avoid her now; she gives me shower caps whenever I go to visit. I mean, shower caps, come on!" Alex said.

"Why does she give you shower caps?" I asked, laughing at the thought.

"I don't know, she says just in case I need them?" she answered, chuckling.

The whole day passed with watching movies, eating and laughing and joking about. I hadn't realized how much I had missed my cousins; it was nice that they visited for Christmas this year. Embry texted me after school.

_Embry: Hey Gab, I'm coming over after school... if that's okay that is. _

_Me: Yeah sure, are you bringing anyone else? _

_Embry: I'll ask Jacob or Quil if they wanna come along. _

_Me: Okay, see ya soon. _

Alex leaned over my shoulder and tried to see who I was testing.

"Who are you texting? Embry perhaps?" she asked accusingly.

I laughed, "What's wrong with texting him?"

"Oh, nothing..." she trailed off, having a mischievous gleam in her eye.

I shook her shoulder as she laughed, "Alex, tell me!"

"Tell you what?" Danny questioned.

"She's texting Embry." Alex blurted out before I could stop her.

Danny then looked over at me amused, "Oh... Gabriella and Embry sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage."

I groaned, "Real mature you guys." I said, as Alex and Danny started laughing at their lame joke.

Just then I heard a knock on the door and stood up to open it.

"Who is that? Embry possibly?" Danny teased.

"Who's Embry?" Aunt Teresa asked, curious. Oh great, they're going to start telling my entire family.

I fled the room and practically burst open the door to get away from them. On the other side stood a very tired looking Embry who smiled brightly once he saw me.

"Hey Gab." He greeted.

"Hey." Jacob and Quil greeted from behind him.

"Hey guys, come on in. My cousins from New York are here aswell." I said.

"Alex is here?" Embry asked.

"Uh yeah." I led them inside to find Danny, Alex, Justin and Teresa smiling smugly at me. Oh no.

"So, Gabriella, Danny just told me an interesting story." Teresa said, as she walked over to me, still smiling.

"Really? Is it about the annoying aunt who got pushed into a pack of hungry wolves by her niece and got eaten?" I asked sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"No, it's about your relationship with this handsome, young boy." She said, looking at Embry who was blushing.

I narrowed my eyes at Danny and Alex who smirked at me. I'm going to murder them later! I caught Embry's eye and smiled sheepishly at him while he chuckled lightly.

"Are you guys hungry? My mom's in the kitchen with Uncle Jerry and my dad, she can give you food; besides they're not traitors unlike some people." I said trying to change the subject and referring to Danny and Alex who were grinning like the bastards they were.

"Sure." Jacob answered as he and Quil were fighting back laughs. I led them to the kitchen in silence and ushered them inside, giving Alex the finger before I entered the kitchen aswell.

"Oh, Embry, Jacob and Quil. It's nice surprise to see you here. You're welcome to stay for dinner." My mom said as my eyes grew wide. No! That would just give Alex and Danny more chances to embarrass me.

My dad huffed before taking Uncle Jerry outside into the patio. I rolled my eyes and sat down at the table which contained some biscuits and chocolate treats. I grabbed a biscuit and started nibbling on it while the boys sat down.

"So, are you buys excited about Christmas?" My mom asked cheerily as she continued to stir a pot on the stove. It smelled delicious and my stomach made a loud grumbling noise.

My mom snorted and raised an eyebrow at me, "Hungry?"

I blushed so much I'm pretty sure I looked like a beetroot, "Not obvious?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well, the carbonara is almost done. Can you call Teresa? Ashe said she wanted me to teach her how to cook the sauce just right."

"Ok." I answered as I stood up and went back to the living room.

"So, Gabriella, how's life?" Justin asked smugly.

"Good, except I have a prank in mind right now. And I know just who to pull it on." I answered in a fake happy tone as I narrowed my eyes at Alex and Danny.

"Uh oh." I heard Danny mumble.

"Aunt, mom wants you in the kitchen." I said.

"Oh, is it about the sauce?" she asked and I nodded. We went back to the kitchen and I sat down again.

My mom and aunt got lost in their conversation about different pasta sauces and I stared at the table, avoiding eye contact with Embry; I couldn't look at him just yet.

"So, when did Alex and her family get here?" Jacob asked, looking intrigued.

"This morning, that's why I missed school today." I answered quietly.

There was another silence as we were all lost for words; what could I say?

"So, have you guys got presents for your secret Santa yet?" I asked.

"Nope. I'm going after this." Quil said.

"Oh, same. I'm taking Alex with me; but I need to buy a present for a boy."

"Oh, who's the boy?" Jacob asked.

"None of your business and anyway you'll find out tomorrow." I replied.

He rolled his eyes and took a biscuit which he shoved fully into his mouth.

"Hey, hey!" Alex greeted as she walked into the kitchen followed by Max. She sat on my lap and I groaned.

"Get off me! You're getting heavy."I commented.

She gasped, "No I am not!"

"Whatever you say." I muttered.

"So, are we still going cliff diving?" Max asked.

"No Max! I already told you that and I don't have a death wish yet!" I said.

"But Danny did it and he's ok." He answered.

"Yeah, but the boy's gotten even stupider ever since." I said laughing.

Alex looked at me amused, "He can't get any dumber than he already is."

Everybody laughed at her remark.

"Hey! You're not smart either!" he protested.

"Well at least I'm street smart; you're not any of those." Alex shot back.

He sighed and sunk into his seat while Alex smiled victoriously.

"Alex, you have to help me buy a present for my secret Santa today." I said, not giving her a choice.

"Do I have to? I'm tired from all the walking we did this morning." She groaned.

"No wonder you're getting fatter, you don't do anything but watch and eat." I teased.

She shrugged indifferently, "Ah well, but who's it for; a boy or girl?"

"Boy." I answered.

"Is it who I think it is?" she said excitedly.

"Nope." I said, smiling as she looked disappointed.

I looked over at Embry who had barely spoken a word the entire time he was here. I nudged his knee gently and he looked over at me smiling.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

He looked confused, "Nothing, why?"

"It's just that you've been quiet the entire time you've been here. Is there a problem?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm just thinking about Christmas tomorrow."

"Oh, can't wait huh?"

"Nope." He said chuckling as Alex, Jacob and Quil watched us quietly as did my mom and aunt. I groaned. I hated it when they did that.

"What's everybody staring at? Get back to your conversations." I said, raising an eyebrow at everyone.

"Uh, I think we should go Embry. Sam just texted saying we have to go to his house for an important meeting." Quil informed him. Jacob, Embry and Quil all gave each other these stares that I didn't understand; what was up with that?

They all stood up and my mom turned around, "Can't you guys stay for some food?"

"Sorry, no. Sam will get mad if we're late." Embry answered politely.

"Why?" I asked confused. Why did they always have to do what Sam told them to? They were like his lost puppies.

"Just." Embry said, looking at me pained and apologetically.

They all walked to the front door and I led them out quickly before Danny or anybody could say anything else. I sighed in relief once they got out. I barely made it through that short encounter, what about tomorrow?

_The next day..._

I was pacing around in my room, trying to calm the nerves that were eating at me. We were getting ready to go to Christmas at Emily's house and I was nervous for what was going to happen tonight. Who knows what Danny or Alex or I might say? I did have a history of ruining get togethers. I groaned as I sat down on the bed.

I was dressed in a red dress that hung to my curves perfectly and ended just above my knee. It was fluffy while the top was tight. I was wearing a necklace that said 'Merry Christmas' on it and my hair hung in loose waves with a white flower pin stuck in it. I wore white ballet flats that had laces that you wrapped around your ankles. I only put on a light cover of makeup because I didn't want to plaster my face with the product.

"Are you ready honey?" my dad asked as he poked his head through the door.

I took a deep breath and stood up, "Yeah." I said, grabbing the small parcel that I had bought for my secret Santa. Everyone was piling into the two cars we had. Boys in one car, girls in the other. We all drove there in silence. When we pulled up, there were already a few cars in the driveway; one of them was Seth's. Everyone got out and I saw Embry rush out of the door and came running to me. He pulled me into a hug and I laughed as I told him to put me down.

"Hey, Emb come on. Let go." I said, laughing. He finally released, looking happy, "Ok."

I turned around and saw everyone smiling amused at me while my dad simply glared at Embry.

"Uh, let's go in shall we?" I suggested.

"Yeah, let's go." Alex agreed, smirking at me. I'm going to get a whole load of shit for what just happened.

We all walked in the cosy and warm room. I loved Emily's house simply because it always had a feeling of family and love in it; it was nice. Everybody started greeting each other and I saw Seth grinning from ear to ear as he saw Alex. To be honest it didn't really bother me anymore; I was over him and I was hung up on Embry now I guess. I walked over to the brightly lit Christmas tree and placed the small parcel along with the other ones. I glanced at the small clock and saw that it was already half eleven. Jeez, I lost track of time; it was a surprise that I was even awake but I guess the smell of food did that to a person.

"Walk with me?" Embry asked a hopeful look in his eyes. I couldn't very well say no.

"Sure, where?" I asked.

"Just! Come on, let's go." he said, grabbing my wrist and ushering me out the door.

We bounded through the forest, Embry leading the way. I had to tell him more than once to slow down or otherwise I would've fallen flat on my face. I wondered what could be so important that we had to go out to the woods at night on Christmas Eve. We finally reached a clearing and we pushed through some bushes. I instantly recognized the place. It was our place; me and Embry's. He had taken me here on our first real date as a couple and it was were I had first told him that I loved him. I looked over at him expectantly.

"If you're my secret Santa is my present being eaten by wild animals?" I joked, as he chuckled at me.

"No, that's not why I brought you here."

"Then, why are we here?" I asked so quietly, I doubted he had heard me.

"Because this is our place; ours only. And I had to ask you something important; somewhere private where no one would disturb us." he answered, looking at me in the eye. He walked over to a bush that was covered with all sorts if different roses; it looked enchanting. He reached into the bush and withdrew a little box in his hands. He walked back over to me and took my hand in his.

"Gab... I love you; I never stopped loving you. Even when you pushed me away and told me you didn't love me anymore, I love you. And I know I hurt you badly, but if you would give me the chance, I'd fix all my mistakes and make you happy; no more pain. What do you say?" he asked with gleaming eyes. The moonlight shone directly above us; almost like a spotlight.

My face broke out into a huge smile, "Yes."

He grinned and whooped as he picked me up and spun me around while I laughed at his actions.

He set me down, "Yes?"

"Yes. Just don't hurt me again Emb."

He whimpered softly, "Never again. It was too painful not having you here."

He pulled back and held the tiny box in his hands. He opened it, revealing a beautiful locket. "THIS is your present." He said happily as I pulled my hair out of the way while he secured it around my neck.

I observed the locket. It said 'Dear Gab, I love you forever and always, Love Emb' on the back and I couldn't help but feel blissfully happy. It was so sweet of Embry to do this for me. I opened it to reveal a picture of me and him kissing. I looked back up at him and smiled as his lips suddenly crashed against mine. It took me a second to respond but when I did, it felt amazing. We kissed passionately until I pulled back for some air. We were both breathing heavily as we stared into each other's eyes. I always got lost in his captivating eyes; they were just so beautiful. Even more so now that we were standing in the moonlight.

"I love you Gabriella."

"I love you Embry."

**And they're back together! YAY YAY YAY! Who else is happy? :D Pretty soon, Alex is going to stop resisting Seth aswell ;) but I mean, who could? So I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, if there's anything you would like me to fix or anything just say :) So remember to review and thanks! Xx**


	28. Chapter 28: Under the Mistletoe

**Ok, so I know its taken ages for me to update but I don't really have a good excuse for it so forgive me! I was really busy and so yeah... Btw, I wanna thank annoontje for reviewing. When I came online to reply it wouldn't let me so I'll just do it here :) so enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 28: Under the Mistletoe.**

_Kiss me underneath the mistletoe,_

_Show me baby that you love me so._

_Justin Bieber, Mistletoe._

_Gabriella's POV_

I didn't think it was possible for me to ever be happy again given the hell I had been through for the past few months, but somehow, Embry was an exception to that rule. Yeah I know most girls wouldn't really take back someone who had cheated on them but with Embry everything was just different. I didn't know how to explain it; it just was. Like, whenever I was away from him, my heart was missing.

He leaned in close to my face and touched his forehead with mine, "Do you want to head back now?"

I smiled, "Sure, wouldn't want to miss any of the food."

He chuckled and took my hand in his. I was just about to walk over a fallen tree branch when Embry picked me up bridal style. I glared at him,

"Embry! Put me down, you know I don't like being carried." I whined.

He raised an eyebrow skeptically at me," That's coming from the girl who won't even walk five minutes to the shop just to get some milk."

I gasped at him, "If you don't put me down I'll..." I trailed of, trying to think of something threatening to say, "I'll break up with you again."

He looked at me with an amused face, "You wouldn't." he replied but after a few seconds of me just staring at him blankly, his amused face turned into a worried one. "Right?"

"Well, if you put me down I wouldn't have to now would I?" I said.

He groaned and set me down onto my feet again as I smiled at him victoriously, "You didn't mean it did you?"

I laughed, "No."

We walked back to Emily's hand in hand and I was practically bouncing up and down with happiness and excitement. We walked through the front door and everyone was looking at us expectantly. I tried to wipe off the grin that was on my face but it just grew even wider. I blushed and moved closer to Embry who wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He led me to the loveseat located in the living room where everyone was seated and I noticed Seth staring at Alex like a lovesick puppy. Unfortunately for him, Alex wouldn't even look at him and kept averting his gaze. Seth was slowly moving inch by inch next to Alex who suddenly stood up and stalked off into the kitchen with an annoyed look on her face. I snorted and Seth looked over at me. I looked away quickly and turned to Embry who was still grinning like an idiot.

Danny and Alex looked over at me mischievously and I shot a glare back; no doubt they were planning something to embarrass me later on. Andrew, Irish, Jilliane and Jasper were sitting on the floor watching a Christmas cartoon that was playing on the TV. Justin, Josh and Max were at the table watching Paul, Jared, Quil and Jacob playing poker while Rachel and Kim were chatting amongst themselves. Asia and Alex were in the kitchen with the adults, preparing the food for later.

The only people in the sitting room were me, Embry, Seth and Leah. Talk about awkward, huh? I was desperately trying to think of a topic of conversation but was getting distracted by Embry who was busy planting small kisses up and down my neck.

"Stop." I complained, shoving him off me. He pouted but did as I asked.

He held my hand in his and stared at me with such happiness in his eyes I couldn't help but smile back. But I looked away quickly when I felt someone's eyes on me and saw Leah looking intently at me. I blushed and inched away from Embry who whined and pulled me back.

"Gab? Can you come here for a minute?" Alex called out, saving me from the awkwardness in the room.

"Sure." I replied, getting up resulting in a groan form Embry.

"No," he whined, "Stay with me. Please."

I laughed, "I'll be back soon; I just need to find out what she wants and I'll come back after. Promise." He still looked sceptical but let me go.

I walked into the busy kitchen were all you saw were people rushing about carrying pots and plates and bowls. It looked hectic. Alex pulled me into a corner, away from everyone.

"So, are you and Embry, you know... together?" she asked excitedly.

I rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm, "Yes, if it wasn't obvious enough."

"Ok, ok I was just asking."

I smirked at her," Well what about you and Seth huh? I think he has the hots for you." I teased and she groaned.

"Shut up! He's really starting to annoy me. Did you know that while you were gone all he did was sit there and gape at me; talk about weird."

I laughed, "Aww, see he does like you! Just give him a chance; he's actually really nice."

"Nice?" she screeched, "How could you say that? Have you forgotten what he did to you?"

"No... But I've decided to let it go; I can't change the past and I've got Embry now. I love him more than I loved Seth."

She stared at me, mouth open in shock. I waved my hand in front of her trying to get her attention. "Hello? Anybody home?"

"Stop it!" she said, swatting away my hand.

I held up my hands in surrender, "Sorry."

"Ugh, just go. I have to find a way to get rid of Seth." She said in disgust.

"Whatever." I said, as I walked back to Embry who was smiling brightly at me.

I sat on his lap and he encircled his arms around me, "I missed you."

I laughed at his cheesiness, "I was only like five metres away from you."

"Still, I missed you."

I planted a kiss on his cheek and grinned at him before leaning my head back onto his chest.

"Why are you always warm Emb? Like you have a fever; are you sick?" I asked, worried.

He shook his head, "No. It's just umm... genes."

I raised an eyebrow at him, letting him know that I didn't believe what he was telling me. "Okay, genes."

He sighed, "Can we talk about this another time? I promise I'll explain it all to you."

"Okay, but you better tell me soon."

"Dinner's ready!" Emily announced merrily as she came in with all the others holding a huge dish filled with five roast chickens. Everyone else was carrying potatoes, vegetables, spring rolls and numerous other types of food. They really outdone themselves; I doubt we would be able to finish it all. But then I guess, they boys do have huge appetites.

Everyone took their seats at the table and it was crowded; there was barely enough room to breathe in! I sat beside Embry and Alex. We all passed out plates and utensils before we said a prayer. After, we all dug into our food. The first bite I took was delicious I couldn't help but moan and Embry laughed at me. I shoved him playfully and he placed I wet kiss on my cheek.

"Eww! Embry." I whined.

"What? I'm just kissing you." He argued.

I rolled my eyes at him and continued to eat my food like everyone else. Everyone made small talk as we ate but it usually died down as everyone was too busy eating the food.

"This is amazing! You need to teach me how to cook like this!" Teresa exclaimed.

Alex snorted, "It would be a miracle if you could ever cook like this."

"Yeah, I still haven't forgotten the time you gave me food poisoning from that jambalaya you cooked." Justin added.

"I don't care as long as there's food." Uncle Jerry said, making everyone laugh.

"Well, guess who's going to have to cook their own food from now on?" Teresa said.

"Well, if you give us money someone else will." Alex said.

Teresa glared at her and Alex laughed.

"So, how's school Gab? Fitting in again?" Emily asked curiously.

I laughed, "I was never going to fit in to begin with. But yeah, I guess it's alright. Except for the teachers and other people; they're really annoying. Like this teacher Mrs. What's-her-face, she blamed me for something that someone else did."

"Oh my god," Max said shocked, "I never knew there was a person called what's-her-face before. I'm so changing my name to that when I'm older."

"No Max... you know what, you should do it." I answered with fake happiness, making max's face brighten up.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. She said that you were the one that messed up the classroom and she called you a disgusting wild animal." Kim added. Embry shook a bit when Kim said this but I just caressed his arm and the shaking stopped immediately.

"Yeah, I hate her. I mean, on Tuesdays I don't even sit in my seat because these stupid fourth years are in my seat and they stink so bad so I just sit on the window ledge and open the windows, breathing for oxygen." I said, earning a laugh from everyone. "It's true though."

Everyone finished eating and I was helping putting away the dishes while everyone crowded into the living room to give out presents. I had only brought two with me; one for Seth because I was his secret Santa and one for Embry.

Me and Seth were the only people in the kitchen because everyone else had left. We were working in silence as I put the dry dishes back into the cupboards.

"So, you like my cousin huh?" I asked.

"Yeah... sorry." He answered.

I snorted, "Sorry for what?"

"For you know... what I did."

"That was ages ago... I'm over it. What I want to know is if you have feelings for my cousin or not because she may not show it but she does. She's just afraid of getting her heart broken because she just got out of a really bad relationship."

"Yeah, I think I love her. I know it seems silly but I do."

"Well, then why are you acting scared around her; nervous?"

"Because I'm afraid of getting rejected by her."

"That shouldn't stop you if you truly like her. She needs a man Seth; not boys who'll act like a coward because he's afraid of taking risks." I said as I walked out of the kitchen, leaving him alone.

I walked to Embry who was sitting on the floor, laughing at something Quil had said. I wrapped my arms from behind him and he pulled me to the front. I sat on his lap facing him and gave him a soft peck on the lips.

"I got you a present." I whispered against his lips.

"You didn't have to." He replied.

"I know; I wanted to. Besides, you gave me one."

"Yeah, that's because I was your secret Santa."

"Well, it's normal for girlfriends to give their boyfriend's gifts."

He nuzzled his nose in my neck, "I love when you call me your boyfriend."

I chuckled, "Why? People say it all the time."

"Yeah, but I like it when you say it."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Where do you work at Embry?"

"A small garage in forks."

"Oh, never knew that."

"Well, now you do."

"No shit."

Someone coughed behind us loudly, trying to get our attention. I tried to slide off Embry's lap but he kept a firm grip on me so I just stopped trying.

"Ok, we'll be giving out the gifts now; get your present then give it to your secret Santa." Kim instructed.

Everyone shuffled about looking for their presents and their secret Santa. I grabbed the two I had brought with me and walked over to Seth.

I handed him the small parcel, "Merry Christmas."

He grinned at me, "Thanks Gab." He started to unwrap it, revealing a small necklace with a wood carving of a wolf.

"When I saw it, it reminded me of the one I saw in your car so I got you it."

He pulled me into a hug, saying thank you. I smiled back and walked away, looking for Embry.

I spotted him talking to Emily and Sam. I walked over and grabbed his hand in mine. He smiled lovingly at me and I placed the small parcel in his hand. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me passionately. I returned it but pulled away abruptly when I heard Sam coughing and Emily smiling at us with a knowing look. I blushed and looked back at Embry as they walked away; an attempt to give us some privacy.

Embry started to unravel the small gift and smiled when he saw it, "I love it; you have the other half don't you?"

"Yep, see; the other half." I said, holding up my phone to show the other half of the heart. He attached it to his keys and smiled at me before kissing me again.

"Looks like everything is working out for everyone tonight." He whispered.

"Everyone?" I asked.

He nodded in Seth's direction and I saw him having a small conversation with Alex and I could have sworn I saw her blush.

"Ah, I see."

"This may be the best Christmas I've had so far." He whispered near my ear, planting a small kiss that made me shiver.

I chuckled, "Where's your mom?"

He stiffened a bit, "She um, went somewhere."

I took that as a sign that he didn't want to talk about it so I dropped the subject. I'd get him to tell me one way or another later anyway; besides, it might just ruin our moment. Then, I remembered a question I had wanted to ask him about for a long time.

"Embry, who's Ella?" I asked, watching him closely to see what his reaction would be. His entire posture changed and his eyes held bitterness in them; she must've hurt him real bad if Embry acted like that around her. Embry was one of the calmest people I knew who was nice to everyone in general.

"She's my ex." He gritted through his clenched teeth.

"Do you want to tell me about her? I don't want another Jasmine situation on my hands." I joked, trying to lighten the mood but it seemed to only make it worse.

He grabbed my face in his huge hands and looked at me directly in the eyes, "I would never let that happen to you ever again. Remember I promised? And I still need to clear up some stuff and tell you things. Big things."

I looked at him confused, "What do you mean by 'big things'? Is it a bad thing?"

He shook his head, "No; well I'm not sure what you'll think but I don't think it's bad?"

"That's not assuring me."

"I never said I was trying to."

I rolled my eyes at him, "Of course not."

"Just kidding; you know I don't like it when you worry." He said, worry lines appearing on his forehead.

I reached up and smoothed out the lines. "Same with you."

"You doing anything tomorrow?" he asked.

"Nope. You?"

"I have to help my mom at the souvenir shop." He groaned.

"Do you want me to help you? It'll give me a chance to get some bonding time with your mom and I'll actually have an excuse for spending the entire day with you tomorrow."

He chuckled, "Yep, hopefully your dad will let you go. And you can try but my mom isn't easily... convinced we'll say."

"Come on Embry; we all know nobody can resist me." I teased.

"Well, I sure as hell can't." He said huskily.

We stood there with our foreheads pressed against each other; I didn't even care that everyone could see what we were doing. I was too busy being in the moment with Embry to care.

"It's getting late, Emb."

"I know, you guys going?"

"Probably. I think my dad has work tomorrow at like noon or something."

"Do you think they'll let me spend the night?"

"I share the room with Asia remember?"

"So? I'm just going to lie in bed with you."

"Maybe another time; you and my dad aren't exactly on good terms right now. Wouldn't want to make it worse now would you?"

"You're probably right." He sighed.

"Gab!" Alex yelled desperately, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of Embry's arms.

She pulled me into the toilet and locked the door. She started playing low music and I looked at her like she was a mental patient who had just escaped.

"What do you want? I was having a moment there." I said, frustrated.

"Me and Seth. We KISSED!" she said, panicking over the whole situation.

I smirked at her, "Aww, I knew you had feelings for him too."

She glared at me, "Don't go there."

"Come on Alex! He really likes you; everyone can tell... but you!"

"But remember what he did to you? What if I do fall in love with him and he just hurts me like he hurt you? Besides, I don't think I'm over... him just yet." She said, dropping to the floor.

I kneeled beside her and shook her shoulders.

"Are you going insane? I mean, I already knew you were but I didn't know it was this bad!"

"I know it seems crazy that I still love him after what he did but I don't know; it's like my heart won't let him go."

"Well, maybe what you need is to start dating new people, you know, to get your mind of f him. And what better person to pick than Seth?"

She sighed, "You're not going to let this go are you?"

"No. So it's either you take the easy way or you're going to have to do it my way. Your call."

"I'll think I'll take the easy way." She said, standing up and making her way out of the bathroom.

I followed her, only to collide into someone's body. I looked up and saw Embry smiling at me happily.

"What did she want?" he asked.

"None of your business." I responded, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yo! We have to go home now. Dad's orders." Josh called out.

"Yeah, and Seth said he'd go cliff diving with me! Awesome right?" Max exclaimed enthusiastically.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Yeah, sure."

"Do you not like cliff diving?" Embry asked.

"Don't tell me you do it to?"

"It's fun! Seriously, like a rush just when you're about to land in the water. I'll take you one day."

"Yeah, no thanks."

"Well, you're going and that's final." Embry said, challenging me to argue.

"I would argue but I have to go."

He pouted, "Do you HAVE to?"

"Yes. Dad's orders. You do NOT want to go against them."

"Fine. I'll come by tomorrow then we'll head over to the shop?"

"Sure." I agreed, kissing him lightly. That didn't seem to be enough because he suddenly hugged me tightly and deepened it, earning a few coughs from my retreating family. The others yelled things like, 'get a room!' or 'stop it' but that only made Embry deepen it even more.

I finally pulled away from the kiss, panting for air. "Tomorrow." I said, as I hugged him tightly one more time and joined my family who were heading into the cars. He followed me and I tried to push him away, laughing.

"Wait! They're under the mistletoe." Rachel informed.

I blushed and gave Embry another kiss, not as long as the last one though.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." He agreed.

**So, this isn't a good chapter, I know. But I was in a rush to write this because it was late and I had to go to bed. So... Remember to review and thanks! Xx **


	29. Chapter 29: Dreams

**Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter! I really appreciated it. And just to let you know, after this story, I'm planning on writing a sequel but I'll definitely write another story based on Seth imprinting on Alex! :) That's all I really have to say so, enjoy! **

**Chapter 29: Dreams. **

_Gabriella's POV_

_I was running through the forest, I didn't know why, I didn't know where but all I knew was that I had to keep running. I heard a growl from behind and quickened my pace even more. Suddenly, all the trees disappeared and I found myself on top of a cliff. _

_I shivered as the cold wind blew against me, making goosebumps appear all over my body. I heard a twig snap and turned my head around. I saw a huge animal stepping, a beast. I noticed it as Wolfie, my wolf friend. But this time, he didn't look happy; the opposite to be exact. He walked over to me slowly and let out a ferocious growl; the anger was evident his big brown eyes. Those brown eyes looked somewhat familiar though; they looked human. And there was only one person I knew that had the same eyes as the giant wolf standing before me. My heartbeat set of in a galloping speed and I inched closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. I took a deep breath and tried to tell myself that everything was alright; Wolfie wasn't out to hurt me. I closed my eyes and tried to get my breathing back to normal. The growls stopped and I was hoping that he was gone. _

_I opened my eyes and gasped at the sight before me. It was Embry. _

"_Embry? What are you doing here?" I stuttered out. I felt small under his hard gaze. _

"_What do you think Gabriella? I'm here to save you. Don't you know how worried I was when I saw you running in the woods in the middle of the night?" he asked, his hard stare turning into a look or worry and sadness. _

"_How did you even see or hear me Embry? And what are you doing out here aswell?" _

"_That's none of your concern. I just want you to tell me why you are out here all by yourself." _

"_I go out sometimes at night to think; it's peaceful during the night. There are no noises or problems. But I heard an animal run after me so I lost my path and ran as fast as I could away. It was Wolfie; but he didn't look to happy with me." _

_There was silence after I said that. Embry looked so confused and worried about something. _

"_Embry, did you see Wolfie?" _

_He walked over to me and took my hand in his. "I need to tell you something Gab but I'm afraid of what'll happen when you do; I just got you back and I don't want to lose you again."_

_I reached up and stroked his cheek. He whimpered against my palm and I leaned my forehead against his. "You're not going to lose me again. I promise, no matter how bad it is, I'll stand by you." _

_He stood up straight and I looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell me what was worrying him so much. _

"_Do you remember the old Quileute legends? You know about the cold ones and us being descendants from wolves?" he asked. _

"_Yeah, I remember them from the bonfire you took me to ages ago." _

"_Well... they're true Gab. Every single one of them." _

_I stared at him stunned; he couldn't possibly be telling the truth right? _

"_Embry, that isn't a fumy joke." I said, pulling my hands out if his and backing away. _

"_Gab, please. I\'m not trying to be funny or anything. Don't you see? Wolfie is me. Don't you notice how our eyes are the same? Or how me and the guys have high body temperatures?" he begged, grabbing my hands again. _

_I looked at him for a while, I didn't want to believe that it was true but I could see the sincerity burning in his eyes. And he did have a point; he did have the exact same eyes as Wolfie and he always felt warm .Then, everything suddenly clicked in my brain. _

"_So... you're the wolf I always talk to about my problems? The one I confided my feelings to?" I asked._

_He simply nodded and looked at me with worried eyes. _

_I didn't know how to react. Was I supposed to just accept everything and move on? Or was I supposed to freak out and run home? I looked at him and I knew the answer. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chest. _

_He let out what seemed to be a sigh of relief, "You still love me?" _

"_Of course I do Embry. I promised to stand by you didn't I? And just because I found out that you can turn into a giant wolf doesn't make me love you any less; in fact it just makes me love you that tiny bit more. It's nice to finally know why you guys disappear so often; I always felt like you guys were keeping some giant secret away from me and it feels like a huge load was taken off my shoulders." _

"_I love you Gab." He whispered against my hair. _

_I smiled against his chest, "I love you too Emb." _

I sat up in bed, feeling a layer of sweat against my skin. I blinked and looked at my surroundings. It was just a dream. I sighed and pulled the covers back, wanting a bit of air to stop the sweat. I stood up and walked quietly down the hall to the bathroom.

I turned on the tap and let some cold water run for a few seconds before splashing some o my face. The cold water felt good against my hot flesh. I turned it off and walked back to the bedroom. I lay down and stared up at my ceiling, seeing as I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep so easily after that dream. What did it mean?

I sighed and looked at the time on my phone; it was just a little past three in the morning. The witching hour. I wondered who was thinking about me, Embry maybe. I thought about what was going to happen later on in the day; I was supposed to come with Embry down to the souvenir shop were his mom worked to help him with things. Would his mom like me? I decided that I had to make a good first impression for his mom today. I was desperate for her to like me I didn't know what I would do if she didn't.

Should I bake something to bring? Or would that just seem like I was being a kiss-up? Ugh, I had so many questions with unknown answers. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

"Gab! Gab, baby wake up!" I heard faintly. I groaned, who the hell could be waking me up?

I managed to open my eyes and blinked when I saw Embry sitting on the side of my bed, grinning at me. I scowled at him and pulled the covers over my head.

"Aw, come on Gab. You need to wake up! It's already half past nine and you need to eat breakfast and get ready to help me at the shop." He explained, pulling back the covers. I tried to fight him but my arms were weak compared to his.

"Fine." I grumbled, getting of the bed and grabbing the hairbrush on the table. I started to comb through my hair and put it up into a quick ponytail after. I turned and glared at Embry who was smiling happily at me.

"Why are you here? I thought you were coming to pick me up at like half twelve or something?" I asked.

He fake gasped and put his hands up for surrender, "Well sorry if I wanted to spend extra time with my girlfriend."

I rolled my eyes at him and encircled my arms around his waist. "I'm sorry baby. I missed you too if that's what you're trying to say."

He smiled and brushed his lips softly against mine, "That was what I was trying to say. Now let's eat breakfast!"

I laughed and led Embry downstairs where I could already hear everyone being noisy. We walked in and Danny gave me a nod which I returned.

We walked into the kitchen and but not before I noticed Alex texting someone. I looked at Embry who was smirking at me.

"So, should I bake something for your mom? You know, to be nice?" I asked.

He snorted, "Nah, just be your normal self."

We walked into the kitchen and I saw my dad's face tighten when he saw me holding Embry's hand.

"Mom, I'm going with Embry to help him and his mom at the souvenir shop today." I announced.

"That's nice. We're all going to Port Angeles today because your cousins are going home soon so we thought we'd all visit the place. We might not be back until really late though." She said.

"That's ok; I'm used to being by myself anyway. And I'll just go over to Embry's house and come home at around eleven later." I said, grabbing a slice of toast and taking a bite. I looked at Embry to do the same but he seemed reluctant. "Just take one, Emb."

He sighed but did as I said. He took a seat and pulled me down onto his lap where he wrapped his arms around me and set his chin on my shoulder.

There was a commotion through the back door and I turned my head to see who it was. It was Justin and Max running and looking panicked.

"Oh my gosh! What did you guys do?" Teresa asked, annoyed.

"Mom, we saw these huge wolves and it was AWESOME!" Max explained. It was so typical of him to find something bad a good thing.

Justin looked at him like he was crazy, "Awesome? More like scary? I've never seen anything like it before; I wonder why they let such huge beasts out in the wild, they could easily kill a human. I mean, they were as tall as a horse!"

Embry looked uncomfortable and started playing with my fingers. "It's against tribal law to kill wolves."

We all looked at him, "Why?" I asked.

"Because wolves are important to this tribe. If you want to know more you should ask one of the elders." He said.

"Oh, maybe I should ask sue. That sounds interesting." Mom said, looking like she was imagining it happening in her head.

I leaned back into Embry's chest and closed my eyes.

"Oi! No time for sleeping." Embry said, shaking me.

I groaned but stood up, "Fine! But if I fall asleep later it's on you!"

"I can handle it." He replied, smiling smugly.

"Ugh, come on, I need to get ready." I said, tugging on his hand while pouring a glass of water and drinking it quickly.

We walked to the living room where I saw Alex looking out the window. What was wrong with her?

"Alex." I called out, making her avert her gaze from the window and focus on me. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing, I'm just... feeling unsettled." She answered. I gave her a knowing look and she glared at me.

I looked back at Embry, "Stay here. I need to get a shower."

"Aw, why can't I just stay in your room? I'll behave, I promise!" he pleaded.

"She said stay here." Danny said, glaring at him. I sighed; trust Danny to be trying to start an argument. It wouldn't be a good thing to leave Embry here.

"Never mind. I'll just kick him out of the room when I'm getting changed." I explained, fleeing the room before Danny could say another word.

"Do I really have to leave?" Embry pouted.

"Yes Embry. My dad and brothers aren't particularly fond of you right now as you can see so play safe. They'll come around." I assured him.

"I hope so." I thought I heard him mutter.

We entered my room and I grabbed my towel. "Stay here and do whatever."

"Whatever like what?" he asked confused.

"I don't know, go on my iPod or something." I shrugged.

"But there's a passcode!" he whined.

"You're so whiny, you know that?"

"It's one of my qualities." He joked, winking at me.

"The passcode is your name." I said, blushing.

He smiled happily at me, "I'm touched."

"Don't let it get to your head." I said, rolling my eyes at him before walking to the bathroom.

I shut the door gently and turned on the water, letting the warm steam fill the room. When I decided that it was warm enough, I stepped inside and let the warm water sooth out my nerves for the day ahead. Instead, I thought of all the positive things happening to my life at the moment.

After I took the shower, I climbed out and wrapped the towel securely against myself. I brushed my teeth and headed to my room. I walked in and saw Embry listening to The Only Exception by Paramore. I looked at him and saw that he had a dazed expression.

"Hey." I said quietly.

He turned his head to look at me, "You finished?"

"Yep, now I need to get changed and I'd appreciate it if you stepped out." I said, gesturing to the door.

"Nah, I'm good." He said, smirking.

I walked over to him and tugged on his arm, "I wasn't really giving you a choice."

He sighed defeated, "Fine. But don't take too long."

"I won't." I said, pushing him out the door and walking over to the closet to pick out my clothes.

I looked through my entire clothes and decided on some Capri jeans, a loose, off the shoulder sweater with a vest underneath and black converse. I threw the clothes on quickly as Embry kept knocking on the door telling me to hurry up. I threw my hair into a quick ponytail and put on a thin cover of foundation and mascara.

I looked at myself in the mirror; I grabbed the necklace Embry had given me as a present and fastened it around my neck. I smiled at myself and went to a very impatient Embry outside.

"Took you long enough." He said, before pulling me into his arms and kissing me. He looked immensely happy when he saw the necklace around my neck.

I led him down the stairs and waved at my mom through the door, signalling that I was leaving. I hopped into Embry's car as he started the engine.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked while fiddling with the radio.

Embry reached over and turned on the radio, smirking at me, "Well, my mom said we could make the handmade bracelets the shop sells."

"Sounds good, as long as there's food." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

Embry laughed, "There's plenty of food there. Trust me; my mom knows how big of an appetite I have."

"As long as you knew." I said, leaning into his side while he wrapped an arm around me.

He pulled up outside a small shop and cut the engine. "Hey, don't worry about my mom, okay? She'll love just as much as I do." He assured.

"I hope so." I replied, nodding my head.

We entered the small shop and a bell sounded as the door swung open. A tall, beautiful, middle aged woman appeared with a girl following closely behind.

"Ah, you must be the Gabriella I've heard so, much about. Come in, make yourself comfortable. I'm Embry's mom." She introduced, pulling me into a welcoming hug as she did so.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Call." I said, returning the hug.

"Oh. None of that nonsense please call me Tiffany." She said, chuckling when I called her Ms. Call.

I blushed, "Ok then, Tiffany."

"That's right." She said, grinning at me while Embry put an arm around my waist and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Wait! You're back together again?" the girl who was following Tiffany asked.

"What are you doing here?" Embry asked, obviously frustrated.

"I came here to talk to you Embry; to work things out." She responded, taken aback by Embry's harsh tone.

"Ella, I told you I don't want to work things out!" he yelled.

I turned around to face him and stroked his cheek to calm him down. "Shh." I whispered. His eyes met mine and he instantly calmed down.

"I think it would be best if you left Ella." Tiffany pointed out.

Ella huffed and stalked out of the shop, slamming the door behind her. She sounded so familiar but I couldn't remember why.

"Um, Embry honey. How about you take Gabriella to the back where all the beads and bracelets are?" Tiffany suggested.

"Sure Ma, come on Gab." Embry said, taking my hand gently and walking to the back of the shop.

We walked inside the room and I shivered at the coldness if it. Embry noticed this and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much better." I said, smiling as I leaned into his warmth.

I saw a small cabinet with drawers filled with beads and I couldn't help but think of a movie I had watched ages ago called Zombieland.

"Hey Emb, have you watched Zombieland yet?" I asked curious.

"Uh yeah, it was ages ago though." He answered, looking puzzled as to why I was asking him the question. "Why do you want to know?"

"I don't know. I just saw the beads and it reminded me of the part where they go to a Indian shop and spill all the beads." I said nonchalantly.

He laughed, "You're really random."

"But you love me." I shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"True." He said, shrugging his shoulders. He led me to a worktable and sat down on a chair.

"Ok, all you have to do is grab a piece of string," he said, taking one form a small container found on the table, "and then pick the beads and make the bracelet. Once you think there's enough on it, just tie two to three knots and you're done." he explained. "Got it?"

"Yeah, sounds easy enough." I answered.

"Then let's get started." He said.

He grabbed a seat for me and we got busy. It was quite fun making bracelets, especially because Embry was there to keep me company. He made me laugh and we just talked about random things like the weather or what we were going to do later since I was going to his house until late.

His mom came in around noon and we all had lunch; bacon sandwiches and freshly squeezed orange juice. When we finished eating, we went back to making the bracelets. I was just about to tie up my last bracelet when a specific charm caught my eye. It was a small charm carved into a wolf. I dropped the bracelet and took the charm to inspect it. I was amazed at the detail such a small charm contained. The charm reminded me of my dream form earlier on. I looked at Embry who was watching me closely.

"What's wrong?" Embry asked, scooting his chair next to mine.

"Nothing... it's just about a dream I had." I said hesitantly.

"What dream?" he asked, pushing further.

I wonder if I should tell him the truth or not; if he could tell me what was meant by the dream. But he might think that I was losing my mind. I had dreamed about him being able to turn into a gigantic wolf; those kinds of things only happened in fairytales. In the end, I ended up telling him.

"Well... you see, I dreamt that I was running through the forest like mad because some wild animal was after me. I ended up at the top of a cliff and then the animal stepped out; it turned out to be the wolf I talk to in the woods. It was growling at me but I closed my eyes to try to block it out. The noise died down and I had thought that it had gone away but when I opened my eyes... you stood in the place of the wolf. Like you were the wolf but you phased back into a human. Crazy right?" I said, laughing nervously. I saw Embry gulp nervously and he looked at his feet.

"Yeah, crazy." He said quietly before returning to his work.

I turned back to the bracelet I was finishing but I slipped the wolf charm into my pocket. Why was he always sensitive about this subject? I glanced at him and he was looking worried as he was tying up a bracelet. He saw me looking at him and he forced a smile which I reluctantly returned. Maybe telling him wasn't such a good idea after all.

**Oooohh, she's getting suspicious! Haha :) Sorry for taking ages to update, I just had a lot of things going on and I had a bit of writers block but I'm back and I've already planned out the next chapter. The only problem is when I get to the computer again :D so Remember to review and thanks! Xx **


	30. Chapter 30: The Truth

**OMG, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know it's taken me ages to update but between tests, being sick and getting braces I just haven't had the time lately! But I'm back and I've set myself a goal of updating every Sunday :) but back to the story, enjoy! **

**Chapter 30: The Truth. **

_Gabriella's POV_

Me and Embry continued to work on the bracelets in silence until his mom came in and told us to go home because we had done enough for the day. The shop hadn't really been all that busy, with the occasional customer every now and then, but nevertheless, it was pretty quiet and peaceful. Embry still looked worried and I wanted nothing but to ease his pain. I waited for him to tell me what was wrong so I could fix it, but he never did.

I kept stealing glances at him while I tried to focus on the task we were doing. I didn't understand why that simple question had bothered him so much; I just wanted to see if he knew why I was having these weird dreams. I had no intention of making him feel uncomfortable; if I knew how bothered he'd be about the dream I wouldn't have opened my big mouth about it at all.

We walked out of the workshop and into the main building.

"Well, the shop's closing soon; you two should probably head home. Embry's already told me about you staying over at the house for a while and its fine by me. I'm going to go the Sue's house tonight so you'll have the house to yourselves." Tiffany explained.

I couldn't help but blush when she wiggled her eyebrows as she said we were going to be alone in the house. I squeezed Embry's hand absent-mindedly and he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead as to reassure me.

"We'll be fine mom; I'll be on my best behaviour with Gab tonight." Embry said, giving me a caring smile.

"You better be." She warned playfully before heading the other side of the counter.

Embry glanced down at me as she left and frowned when he saw me studying his features. Now that I had a closer look at him, he really did have the same eyes as the wolf I dreamed of. I can't believe I only noticed that now. But then again, I wasn't really paying close attention before. I tried to reason with myself about this; it could just be all a coincidence. These kind of things happened everyday to people all over the world right? I was just letting my imagination get the best of me.

"You ready to go?" he asked softly and I nodded my head.

He led me out of the shop, my hand in his, and we climbed into his car. The ride was slightly uncomfortable; like he was trying to think of something to say. He pulled up outside the house and we sat there for a few minutes in silence, too lost in our own thoughts to say anything. I was trying to think of the best thing to say to him right now so I wouldn't upset him any further than I already had.

"Gab," he sighed, "we need to talk." He announced, finally breaking the silence that loomed the car. His eyes burned right into mine and I found it hard to look away from them.

I looked at him for a while and hesitantly nodded my head. I felt butterflies in my tummy; what could he possibly want to talk about? I had questions of my own to ask him about but I kept my mouth shut for the meantime. I was about to open my car door but Embry beat me to it. I was surprised and shocked at how he had gotten there so fast; almost at an inhuman speed.

I wrapped my arms around myself as Embry kept a distance away from me; it bothered me to no end. Was he going to break up with me or something? If he was why was he making this so difficult for both of us? He started entering the woods and I stopped in my tracks. This seemed to catch his attention and he looked back at me.

"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously.

"Why are we going into the woods? It's late, it might be dangerous. We don't know what kind of wild animals could be lurking in these woods." I explained shivering as a slight wind blew across my body, causing goosebumps to appear all over my body.

He walked to me and looked me dead in the eye, a solemn look on his face, "I would never let anything harm you Gab; you have to understand that. You mean so much to me it would kill me if anything happened to you. Come on, just trust me." He said, wrapping an arm around me as we set off into the woods.

I kept jumping at every slight noise I heard, getting paranoid in case a bear or some wild animal was following us. Embry assured me every time but it did little for the bundle of nerves my stomach was in at the moment. I was so desperate to ask him what was going on but I stopped myself from asking every time; I had to try and be patient with him.

Finally, we stopped walking once we reached a clearing in the forest; the same one where he had given me my Christmas present a few nights ago.

He kept a distance away from me again and I whimpered slightly at the loss of contact. He stood with his back to me and I could just make out his silhouette in the moonlight. He kept averting his gaze with me and I just gave up trying to meet his eyes.

"Do you remember the old legends? The ones you heard at the bonfire a long while ago?" he suddenly questioned.

I thought back to the night he was talking about and remembered I had fallen asleep that night, "Sort of, they're very vague memories though; I can remember the stuff about the third wife and Taha Aki but that's about it."

"Do you remember about the cold ones? And that some Quileute's are supposedly descendants from wolves?" he pressed further.

I frowned wondered why he had brought this up now; he had seemed upset about it when I asked him at the shop about it earlier.

"Some parts of it. Emb, why are you asking me about this now?" I questioned. He was sending me mixed signals about this whole thing that it was starting to give me some whiplash.

"Because Gab, I can't keep hiding this from you anymore; it's literally eating me on the inside to have to hide it from you. I don't want to keep secrets anymore; I just got you back and there's no way I'm losing you again." He responded intensity in his eyes as he turned to face me.

"What secret? Does it have something to do with... Ella?" I whispered, almost afraid of his answer. _Please don't let it be like Jasmine _I begged silently in my head.

To my surprise, he started laughing hysterically. I frowned at him, "This isn't funny Embry!"

He managed to control his laughter and compose himself "I know, I'm sorry. No, it's not about her. It's between... me and you." He said, getting serious again.

"You see, the legends...well... they're true. Every single one of them." He said. I was taken aback by what he said. True? The legends? Did he think this was a funny joke? Because I sure as hell didn't. "Please Gab, you have to be believe me, they are! I can even prove it to you!"

I scoffed, "Embry, if you're trying to make me laugh, it's not working. You're going to have to try harder than that."

"I'm not trying to make you laugh!" he protested, stepping closer to me, "Just please let me explain everything to you before you say anything. I'll answer any questions you have when I'm done." He pleaded. I looked him in the eyes and reluctantly agreed.

"Ok, so..."

-0-

I sat there in shock as I tried to take in everything he was telling me. I felt like I was about to pass out but I didn't for Embry's sake; the poor boy already looked like a scared and confused puppy and I didn't want to add to that even more. But still; this was a lot to take in a short amount of time.

I stood up from the log we were sitting on started to pace around the forest floor. My brain was still trying to soak up the information Embry had just explained but it felt like my brain was trying to reject this information; like it didn't want to believe it. I would've been ok if it was something like he was dropping out of school or he was graduating early but no. This was 'I can turn into a giant wolf whenever I get angry or there are vampires around who want to eat you all up' kind of thing. How was this supposed to be taken lightly by anybody?

I turned to face him from my spot. "Why are you telling me this now?" I questioned.

He mumbled something incoherent but then he shook his head. "Do you remember something about imprints from the bonfire?"

I frowned at him. Imprints? Wasn't that when shape shifters found their soulmate or something? Then a realization dawned onto me. This must be why he's been so uptight about his whole thing; he imprinted on someone and was too afraid to tell me about it. I looked at him with realization but tried to keep myself composed. I didn't want to jump to conclusions; maybe he was just trying to tell me who had imprinted among the pack right?

"Imprinting... it's like finding your soulmate... right?" I asked hesitantly, being careful about the words I was using.

"Yeah." He clarified. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the question I was dying to ask.

"Embry... why are you telling me this? Is there something you're trying to say?" I asked, looking down at my feet because I was scared that if I met his eyes I would start crying.

"Gab, I...I imprinted on someone." He said gently.

I gasped at his words; so much for not jumping to conclusions. I turned my back to him and started walking to the edge of the cliff where we were at. I felt tears starting to sting my eyes and I did my best to stop them but they just flowed down my cheeks helplessly. If he imprinted then that meant... that meant he was breaking up with me again. I just couldn't deal with that pain anymore.

I felt Embry's warm hand grasp my elbow. He spun me around to face him and he looked so hurt as he saw my tear-stained face.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, brushing away a tear that was currently falling down my cheek and putting both his arms around my waist, holding me close to him.

I shook my head at him and refused to meet his eyes. I pushed his hands away from me and started walking away; there was no point in me staying with him if he had already found his soulmate. It was like Seth all over again; why did I never learn my lesson? I could hear him calling after me, telling me to stop and listen but I just ignored him; my vision was starting to get blurry from all the tears that were pouring down my face.

"Gab! Gab, please wait for me! Please, you have to understand!" he called after me, catching up and pulling me into his arms. He hugged me so tightly I thought I would break in his arms. "Don't leave please, I can't handle you leaving me again." He begged his chin on top of my head as held onto me so tightly.

"Why should I stay? You've found your soulmate Embry; I don't want to get in the way of that. I hope you have a nice life." I said, fresh tears spilling again.

"No! Gab, you have to listen to me please. You're my imprint. It's you Gab! Please don't go; don't leave me again. Please. Baby please." He pleaded.

I froze. Me? His imprint? That's impossible right? I mean, I had hope that I was his imprint but I never imagined it could possibly be true. I looked up at his face and saw that he was also crying, tears falling down his face. "Why are you crying Embry?"

"Because you're going to leave me again. And this time you might not come back anymore." he whispered so lowly I could hardly hear his words. He looked so pained and hurt as he said it; I wondered if there was a possibility that it was true.

But if I was... then why did he kiss Jasmine when he was with me? Why would he hurt me so much if I was his imprint? Weren't shape shifters supposed to love and care for their imprint, not hurt them or kiss other girls behind their back?

"If I'm your imprint... then why did you kiss Jasmine?" I asked, curious for his answer but also hurt at the discovery I had found out about.

He winced as I asked this but he looked at me straight in the eye, "I didn't mean to do it; she forced herself on me. I was going to apologize to you that day for what happened the day before but Jasmine came in before you did and started asking questions. Then just before you walked in, she threw herself on me and you walked in before I could push her off. You have to believe me when I say that; I would never purposely to hurt you. All I ever want to do is love you and care for you." He had sincerity in his eyes that I couldn't not believe him.

"But why didn't you leave then? When she was asking you questions and flirting with you? You should've known she was going to try something." I asked.

"Because I was stupid! I didn't think about my actions and in the process I ended up hurting you and myself." He responded, gripping my shoulders tightly, "Please believe me. I love you Gabriella Russo. Only you."

It took me some time to get my head wrapped around it. But in the end I finally gave in; if I rejected him it wouldn't do the both of us any good. I smiled up at him, "Then why are you crying, idiot? Do you not want me to be your soul mate?"

He in return smiled back at me happily, "Of course I do; you're perfect for me."

I leaned up and kissed him slowly but passionately. I tried to pour all my love for him in that single kiss. I couldn't believe that he was telling me this. That our love was meant to last forever. An eighteen year old doesn't usually receive this kind of news.

When we both pulled back breathless, I leaned my forehead against his. "Do you want to go back to your house now Emb?"

"Yeah. Let's get you inside so you don't get sick or anything." He said, taking my hand and leading me back to his house.

-0-

Once we reached his house, he opened the door and turned on the lights. He then led me to what I assumed was his living room and sat me down on the sofa. His house wasn't very big compared to mine. But I guess he didn't really need to have a big house since there was only him and his mom living in it. I could see pictures of him displayed around the house of when he was younger and I couldn't help but stand up to have a closer look at them.

He looked so cute as a child, dimples and big cheekbones. "You were so cute as a child, Emb." I said, turning to glance over at him as he was looking through a pile of DVD's.

"Yeah, right." He snorted, "I found Zombieland, do you want to watch it?"

I laughed, "Seriously? But I guess so; I've got a wolf here to protect me anyway." I teased as he chuckled.

He got up from the floor and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist; a new hobby of his I suppose.

"I bet you looked cuter than me Gab. I want to see a picture of you when you were younger, please." He said.

I rolled my eyes at him and spun around in his arms to face him. "Ask my mom or something then."

"You're mean! I let you see some of mine." he pouted, "I don't think your family likes me anyway."

"Awk, Emb. They do! It's just that my dad is very protective of me and sometimes my brothers' aswell but they'll get around to it. I mean, I did. And technically, you didn't show me them; they were already there."

"That's so reassuring Gab." He said sarcastically.

"That's my new job now." I said, winking at him. "And besides; I love you so they have no choice but to accept you. I mean, according to you we're soulmate." I said.

He grinned and shrugged at me. "True; they're never going to get rid of me."

I smiled at him and tugged his hand toward the sofa.

"Emb, go put on the DVD; I wanna watch it now."

"Ok baby." He answered, getting up and slipping the DVD into the player. He fiddled around with the settings and once he had arranged everything, he returned to the sofa and lifted me up until I was placed comfortably on his lap. I grabbed his arms and wrapped them around myself, smiling at the warmth that radiated his body.

I had learned that it was one of the things that came with being a wolf; the warmth. They also got incredible speed, strength, agility and crystal clear senses, making them practically indestructible.

I tried to pay attention to the movie but I got distracted by Embry who kept on running his hands up and down my back and placed kisses along my neck and cheek at random times, whispering 'I love you' every time he did.

I squealed a few times during the movie, mostly when it showed the zombies chasing after people or eating their guts out. Embry kept laughing every time I jumped in his arms but I didn't mind.

Just as I was falling asleep, I made a realization. If Embry really was the wolf I always talked to in the woods, Wolfie as the name I had given him, then that meant Embry knew how I felt about him because I had spent many afternoons talking to Wolfie about how I felt about Embry. And that also meant he knew that I had used Ethan to try and make him jealous.

I turned my head slowly to him, narrowing my eyes at him as I did so. "Embry, do you want to tell me something?" I asked through gritted teeth.

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "I don't think so baby. What's wrong?"

"Hmm, like the fact that you were Wolfie and you knew how I felt about you and also the fact that I used Ethan to try and make you jealous?"

He burst out laughing at my accusation. He laughed so much tears started to come out of his eyes and he was breathing heavily. This only made me more annoyed and I glared at him.

He saw my glare and immediately stopped. "Aww come on Gab, you gotta admit it was funny."

I huffed at him, "Whatever."

"Baby, please I'm sorry." He pleaded and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

I couldn't stay annoyed at him for long after that. I eventually gave in and wrapped my arms around him just as the movie credits started to roll. I glanced at the small clock found on the wall. It was only half nine.

I yawned and looked up at Embry who was staring down at me with a look in his eyes that I couldn't really describe. "Em, I'm sleepy; wake me up when it's time for me to go home please?"

"But you haven't eaten anything since lunch earlier; you might get sick. I'll go make you a sandwich or something, ok?" he said.

"No, I'm not hungry. I'll eat later; just wake me up half an hour before I have to go ok?" I insisted.

He seemed reluctant at first but begrudgingly agreed when I kissed him. I soon drifted off to sleep when he placed my head on his lap and gently ran my hair through his fingers.

**So she knows the truth! It will make things a little easier for Embry now but not by much. I just want to apologize again for taking ages to update but things will get back on track soon. See you guys again on Sunday! Remember to review and thanks! Xx**


	31. Chapter 31: In My Head

**Hey guys :) so as promised, I updated on Sunday! I noticed that there hasn't been a lot of chapters in Embry's POV so I thought I'd just add this in to let you guys know what's going on in his head. But let's get back to the story now, enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 31: In My Head.**

_Embry's POV_

I stared down at Gabriella's sleeping form on my lap. She looked so peaceful and relaxed I didn't want to wake her up from her slumber. But I knew I had to; she had already lost quite a lot of weight and I didn't want her to look unhealthy.

I had been so stressed out today to the point I just wanted to yank my hair out from my head. Gabriella had told me about a dream she had. It was about me chasing her through a forest and then phasing in front of her. When she had told me that, I knew I couldn't keep the secret from her any longer. She would need to find out about it eventually anyway.

She took it better than I had imagined over and over in my head but it tore at my heart when she had started crying when I started talking about imprinting. I thought it was obvious that I had imprinted on her but I was wrong; she had thought that I had imprinted on someone else and was going to break up with her. When I finally clarified everything to her, she questioned me about the thing that happened with Jasmine which only made me feel even worse than I already did. I ended up crying like a baby in front of her but thankfully she hadn't minded and even wiped away some the tears that were cascading down my face.

I thought back to how my life was before I imprinted. Then, I just coasted through life, not caring what happened. I used girls for my own happiness and treated most of them like trash. But that was just a mask I hid behind; I felt lonely most of the time. Mostly because I had never known who my father was and that made me feel rejected but also because I had never felt truly loved and wanted in my entire life. Yeah, my mother showed me the motherly love that most mothers gave their child but I still felt like there was something missing.

Then, when I had phased into a wolf, I found out about imprinting and finding your soulmate so I tried to meet as many girls as possible and was hopeful that one of them would end up being her; my imprint. Unfortunately, all I ended up with was disappointment because day after day, none of them were her.

I had eventually given up on imprinting and had just started to date girls to somehow spend my time. Of course, the fact that I was sneaking out at night, sleeping at weird hours, eating mountains of food and growing so suddenly didn't go well with my mom and she started suspecting that I was on drugs or something. She punished me by permanently grounding me but of course, that hadn't stopped me. The guys felt sympathy for me and suggested that we let her in on the secret but I had declined. I had told them that the secret was too important but the real reason was that I was scared that once she found out, she would reject me as her son. Sam had tried to reassure me that she wouldn't; that she should even be proud of me for what I did for the tribe but I didn't give in.

I hadn't expected that I would meet my imprint while I was on a date with another girl though. I had always dreamt that I would meet her walking around one day, not meeting her while on a date. The first impression of Gabriella that I had, before I had stared into her enchanting eyes, was that she was hot. Smokin' hot to be exact. But once I looked into those eyes, I was a goner. She no longer only looked hot to me, she looked beautiful, wonderful, amazing, especially when a slight wind blew her hair from her face. She looked love struck as I probably looked aswell but she quickly recovered. She proceeded to glare at me, probably because of Jasmine who was starting a fight with her.

I noticed she was with Seth and holding his hand aswell, which made my heart sink a little inside my chest. I had acknowledged Seth, hoping that he would introduce me to her but unfortunately, he hadn't. Instead he just replied with a simply 'Hey'.

After, Gabriella had tried to drag him away inside the restaurant but I took hold of her wrist before she could; I had to find out what her name was. Unfortunately, that seemed to piss her off even more and she left without telling me what her name was. I left Jasmine that night and I lay in bed wondering what she was doing right now and where she lived. Her skin had looked tan instead of pale so I hoped that she was in La Push instead of living in Forks.

During the next few days, I looked for her all around town wondering if she really was on the reservation. I had no such luck until the day I was wandering through the forest in my wolf form and I suddenly felt a strong pull on my spine trying to pull me somewhere. I didn't resist it and followed the pull. It brought me to the backyard of an unfamiliar house and I howled hoping that there was somebody home. Luckily, there looking at me through the window of the house was my imprint.

My heart soared with joy as I found out that she lived in this house. She had come outside and talked to me like I was a normal person and even gave me a silly nickname of 'Wolfie'. I had rested my head on her lap as she began to stroke her fingers gently through my fur. But her family arriving had ruined our little moment and she had left, with a promise of coming to see me again. It made me so happy to know that she wasn't afraid of me as I had originally feared and even suggested seeing me again.

I had seen her again the day Harry Clearwater had a heart attack and died. I felt bad for being happy but I couldn't stop it; she even fell asleep curled up next to me. Everybody had left, only leaving me and her and we ended up playing 20 questions. Seth and Leah had also phased that day, which meant that Seth couldn't be with Gabriella for a while. During the time he was away, I had been there with her but although she smiled when she was around me, I could still see the heartbreak in her eyes because of his disappearance.

Eventually, Seth learned that I had imprinted on Gabriella and he had no choice but to break up with her. I winced as the image of her sitting on the forest floor looking so broken appeared in my mind. I hated knowing that somehow I was the cause of that but I did my best to comfort her.

She came out of her shell and I finally gained the courage to ask her out. She had agreed but on the term as friends. I was a bit disappointed but I knew I had to take it slow. Our little 'date' was ruined by Seth and Jasmine who had just happened to appear in the same place as me and Gabriella. We eventually left though because Jasmine kept flirting with me and it annoyed the both of us. But in the end, the night turned out pretty good as Gabriella agreed to be my girlfriend.

A noise suddenly broke out through the silent room, making me jump slightly as the loud noise hurt my sensitive ears. I grabbed the phone and turned off the alarm which reminded me to wake up Gabriella so she could eat before I had to drop her off at her house.

I stared down at her sleeping from and brushed away a few strands of hair that had fallen onto her face. I shook her shoulder gently until she started to stir and her eyelids fluttered open.

"Hey Emb..." she said sleepily as a small yawn escaped her lips.

"Hey Gab, it's time to get something into your stomach now, I'll be right back." I said as I gently placed her on the couch and went to the kitchen to make her a sandwich.

I worked quickly and quietly in the kitchen and I could hear Gabriella shuffling about in the living room. I put the sandwich on a small plate and poured a small glass of water. I walked back to the living room and smiled when I saw her sitting up lazily and looking like she was about o fall asleep.

"No time for sleeping, you promised me you would eat before you left." I teased as I sat down beside her and handed her, her food.

She glanced over at me, "I never promised anything, liar."

"Still, you said you would eat so eat." I responded, pulling her onto my lap and placing a kiss on her forehead.

She settled her head on my chest as she began to nibble on the sandwich I had given her. We didn't talk much but I was okay with that, it was a comfortable silence that loomed over us anyway.

-0-

"_Please, please, PLEASE shut up already!" Paul groaned as he saw that I was thinking about Gabriella again. _

"_Why the hell should I? You never shut up about Rachel either you hypocrite." I growled at him through the mind link. Of all the people I could have gone on patrol with tonight, Sam had to put me with Paul? _

"_Like I fucking enjoy being in your mind either. You're just mad because you're imprint hasn't given you anything in bed yet. " Paul growled back at me. _

_That was it. He could talk shit about me all he wanted but no one, and I mean NO ONE, could talk shit about my imprint like that in front of my face and not get hurt. Besides, I knew Gabriella wasn't ready yet; she had a purity ring to show that. I wasn't going to rush her into anything she wasn't ready for and it was comforting to know that she was still a virgin. I couldn't imagine another guy touching her but me._

_I ran to where he was as fast as I could; I was seeing red. I finally reached the clearing where he was waiting for me with a smug smile on his face. It only made me angrier. _

"_You think you can take me? Bring it!" Paul challenged me. _

"_I will. You think you're so high and mighty but you're not so, get your head out of your ass." I yelled back. _

_This made the smile on his face fade and he started growling angrily at me as we both glared at each other._

"_You think you're so innocent, do you? Does Gabriella know about all the girls you were with before you met her? I mean, she must be stupid if she thinks that Jasmine was the only girl you were with before her." _

"_Says you, you were just as bad as me, maybe even worse!"_

"_The difference between me and you is that Rachel knows unlike Gabriella. When are you going to stop keeping secrets from her?"_

_I was just about to lunge at him when Sam suddenly appeared. _

"_Enough!" he commanded with his Alpha voice. Me and Paul immediately bowed our heads at his command. "Quit fighting and do your job, Damnit!" _

"_Fine." Paul grumbled miserably and headed the opposite direction of where we were. _

_Once he was out of sight, Sam turned to me. "Don't let him get to you, Embry. You should know better than to listen to him." _

"_Yeah, I know. It just gets to me when people say bad things about my imprint." I answered. _

"_I know that's exactly how I feel with Emily, just do your best to ignore him; but you really should stop keeping secrets from Gabriella. It might push her away from you." He said, before phasing out. _

-0-

The sun was starting to rise when I finished patrol. I ran to my house in wolf form and phased back to human just before I reached the back garden of my house. I was mentally preparing myself for the lecture my mom would give me for not being in bed all night but I was secretly hoping she was still asleep.

I turned the handle of the door and sure enough, my mom was standing there arms folded and a glare on her face.

"Embry Mason Call, care to explain where you've been?" she asked through gritted teeth as she eyed my shirtless form.

I just shrugged my shoulders helplessly at her question. I couldn't tell her about me being a wolf and protecting her from vampires so there was no point in even saying anything. But in typical parent behaviour, she didn't accept my answer.

"No? Well then, I have something to say. You're grounded, you hear me?" she called after me as I started climbing up the stairs to my room, "From here on out, you go to school, work and back home; nowhere else. If you want to spend time with Gabriella, you're going to have to spend it here." She said just as I slammed my door closed.

I walked over to my bed and sighed in frustration as I sat down. I glared at the closed door and wished that somehow my life could just return to normal; it was so much simpler that way before. I pulled back the covers and lay down to get some rest. My phone started buzzing on the small table next to my bed just as I was about to fall asleep. I groaned but reached for the vibrating phone anyway.

I flipped it open and immediately smiled at the text message that I had received; it was from Gabriella.

_G: Hey baby, I know you're just back from patrols but are you doing anything later? Just wondering :) _

I quickly typed up a reply to send to her,

_E: Nah, my schedule's free for today. What do you wanna do? _

_G: Dunno, what do YOU want to do ;) _

_E: How about I pick you up at around six and we can go to the beach and have a picnic?_

_G: Yeah, I'll be waiting for you :) See you tonight._

_E: Yeah, c'ya baby._

I flipped the phone closed after setting an alarm for five o'clock and threw it at the foot of my bed. What could I bring to the picnic tonight? I was thankful that my mom would be away to work from five o'clock to eleven o'clock which meant I could sneak out for a few hours. As I was brainstorming for ideas to bring to the picnic, my tiredness took over me and I was asleep a few seconds later.

**I know it's short but I wanted to cut this in two parts. Plus, for those who are wondering, Ethan's going to make a show again very soon. I'm excited! So, see you guys again next Sunday! Remember to review and thanks! Xx **


	32. Chapter 32: Date Night

**So yeah, I know. I didn't update last Sunday but I kinda have a good reason... sort of... maybe? But it's because I had exams. I was originally supposed to post an author's note about it to explain but I never really got round to it. I blame my laziness ;) but here's the next chapter so, enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 32: Date Night. **

_Gabriella's POV_

Date night. It couldn't be that bad right? Yeah, except for the fact that I was still a bit awkward with the whole wolf situation thing. I didn't tell Embry about it though because I didn't want to hurt his feelings but you'd think he'd figure it out right? Unfortunately, no.

So here I was pacing around my room at four o'clock in the afternoon trying to decide whether to tell Embry about how I was feeling or not. On the one hand, telling Embry meant he could explain some things and help me out with my situation but on the other hand he might get hurt and that might cause a strain in our relationship. I let out a frustrated groan and walked over to my wardrobe to get my outfit ready for our date tonight.

I decided against wearing something dressy so I went for a pair of khaki's, a plain black tee and a brown snood along with a pair of black and white vans. I had already taken a shower earlier because I had accidentally spilled coke all over myself. That's how good I am at holding cups.

I picked up a small face cloth and went to the bathroom to wash my face; you know the normal stuff. After, I got dressed and did my make-up, only applying a small amount of concealer and lip balm; I flipped my hair forward and scrunched it up to make it look messy. I decided I was done and sat back down on my bed.

I still had an hour to kill before our picnic on the beach; what could I do? I reached for my phone and looked through all my contacts to see all the people I could talk to.

I reached Leah's name and paused. I hadn't seen or talked to Leah much since Ethan's disappearance. I mean, I wanted to but every time I tried to walk closer to her, she looked at me sadly and walked even further away from me; I took that as a sign she didn't want to talk to me. I didn't know why though; was it because of Ethan? If she expected me to forgive Ethan and be all buddy- buddy with him again, she was damn well out of her mind. There was no way I could forgive him for what he did.

I told Embry about this but he just shrugged it off and told me not to worry about it too much; that Leah was just having some personal issues right now. It still bugged me but I let it go. Kind of.

Instead, I settled for calling Rachel. I would have hung out with Alex but she was with Seth someplace. Yep, I finally persuaded her to go out with him after Embry explained to me why he had broken up with me. I dialled her number and she picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" came the response.

"Rach! It's me Gab!"

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"Well, I'm going on a date with Embry in an hour and I need to take my mind of it for a while so I thought I'd call you."

"Ugh. I still don't know why you took him back Gab. I mean, after how much he hurt you, I wouldn't have."

I groaned. Rachel or Stevie hadn't been happy about my decision to take Embry back. I tried to explain to them multiple times why I did but they refused to listen. I eventually gave up after a week.

"Rach, can you just please forget about that and move on. The important thing is that I'm happy right?" I pleaded.

I heard her sigh softly on the other side, "Yeah I guess. But if he hurts you again I'm aloud to kick his ass."

I snorted. I doubt an eighteen year old girl could go against a wolf.

"Yeah, whatever."

"So, onto other things... have you heard any news about Ethan yet?" she asked.

I paused. I didn't really know how to answer that question, because I didn't even know what happened to him. All I knew was that his parents were devasted and going crazy looking for their son; I mean I would to if I were in their shoes.

"No, not yet." I responded quietly.

"Well, I was in the shop with Stevie the other day and I heard Ellie, you know Ethan's sister, talking to her friends about how their parents were blaming you for everything that happened. You should've seen Stevie; she looked ready to deck someone."

"Me? How is it my fault? He was the one who tried to rape me! His parent should get that into their thick skulls and start taking blame for their son's actions. Their lucky my parents haven't even filed anything against them." I said angrily into the phone.

"I know, knowing how protective your parents are, they better not show their faces at your house."

"I just hate him so much for what he did!"

"I know, I know. You ranted about it to us last week."

"Yeah... well I need to go and get ready now. I'll talk to you later and try to be with Stevie too; it's been a week since I last called her."

"Yeah, ok bye."

I threw the phone at the foot of my bed and sighed. I should've known better than to think that life was getting better. Just as soon as something good happened for me, something bad would always follow it.

I decided that I would go downstairs and try to look for something entertaining to do for the next half hour. What I walked into downstairs was definitely amusing.

My parents were playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii and they were looked like they were trying their best but... sometimes there are things parents just shouldn't think about doing or do for that matter.

"Please stop that before you scar the little ones for life." I said, covering my eyes with my hands and attempting to walk over to the couch where Josh and Danny were sitting laughing at my parents.

"Oh come on Gab! It's funny!" Danny said, laughing.

"I'm so glad I'm going out tonight." I muttered.

"Where to honey?" my mom asked, her eyes still focused on the TV.

"Embry's taking me to the beach for a picnic." I answered.

"Aw, that's sweet." She answered.

"No it's not. Can't he afford to take you somewhere like a restaurant." Danny remarked.

I glared at him for my place. "Actually he can. But the beach is more romantic and original. You know; something you're not."

He huffed at me and stalked to the kitchen.

My mom and dad had paused the game and were watching our heated conversation.

"Well, um... do you want a go at the game honey?" my mom asked after a minute.

"No it's ok mom." I answered quietly.

Fortunately, the doorbell went off right at that time signalling that Embry had arrived. I rushed to the door almost knocking vase to the floor in the process.

"Hey baby." I said, jumping into his.

"Hey, I missed you." He said, nuzzling his nose into my neck. "You smell good."

"I missed you too. You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go."

I stepped out onto the front porch and closed the door silently behind me. Embry took my cold hand in his warm one and led me to the passenger side of the car. I hopped in and he closed the door behind me before getting in to the car himself.

He drove the short ride to the beach quite quickly. It was really only a two minute walk though.

I walked out of the car, Embry grabbing a picnic basket from the back seat.

"Let's go." He said, wrapping an arm round me.

He led me to a spot near a log and started laying out the picnic blanket and gestured for me to sit down. He started taking the food out of the basket and I was surprised to see he had brought much more food than I expected.

"Why'd you bring so much food?" I asked, laughing.

"Well, I only want the best for you don't I?" he teased. He picked up a strawberry dipped in chocolate and fed me it.

We continued to feed each other the sandwiches, strawberries and other snacks he had brought for us. Just as he was about to pop another strawberry in his mouth, he suddenly froze.

"What?" I asked, concerned.

"Nothing." He growled out, pulling me closer to him.

What was wrong?

**Yeah, so this was short but I was rushing this tonight. I'll try my best to update on Sunday but I don't want to make anymore promises. Thanks and remember to review! Xx **


	33. Chapter 33: Appearances

**Ok so here's the next update! Oh and thanks to Imprinting Magic, VballBabe44 and annoontje for reviewing the previous chapter! I don't really have anything else to say so, enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 32: Appearances. **

_Gabriella's POV_

Embry stayed frozen for a while. I didn't know what I was supposed to do; what was wrong. I reached over at him and shook his shoulder and thankfully that seemed to knock him out of his daze. He looked at me and I saw horror and fear in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked alarmed.

He pulled me tight against his chest and started looking around frantically at our surroundings. He also started sniffing the air and I saw his nose wrinkle in disgust.

"Embry please, tell me what's wrong. What is it?" I asked again.

"We need to get out of here. Now." He said. He released me from his hold and started packing up all the picnic things quickly into the basket. He then grabbed hold of my hand and gripped it tightly as if to reassure himself. He ran quickly to the car and ushered me inside. He ran to the other side and got in before quickly starting the car and driving back to my house at top speed.

"God damnit Embry! Tell me what's wrong!" I shouted as his grip on the steering wheel tightened at my question.

"Not now Gab." He gritted out through his clenched teeth.

I let out a huff and sunk into my seat with my arms crossed. He suddenly pulled to a halt in front of my house. We sat there in silence as he breathed heavily. After a moment, he finally turned to face me slowly.

"Can you just please tell me? What's gotten you stressed out? What aren't you telling me? I've noticed the tiny changes in you this week Embry, I'm not that stupid. You always looked tired and the pack constantly looks stressed; like there's some huge problem. What is it?" I questioned him fiercely.

He sighed. "Gab, it's... just we've been under a lot of stress. There's a vampire named Victoria loose around the area and she keeps going back and forth between our land and the Cullen's' land. Sam's got us on tight patrols all week and it's just made everyone tired. And we still need to figure out what she's after. That's all there is." He explained.

"But what happened at the beach? Did you see Victoria? Is that why you were panicking?"

"No, it was... Ethan." He said hesitantly

I gaped at him once the name slipped from his lips. It couldn't be true. Please tell me it's not true.

"Please tell me that's a joke Embry." I pleaded, not wanting to believe what he was saying.

He looked over at me sadly, "I'm afraid it is. And he didn't exactly look... human."

I stared over at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"He had blood red eyes Gab. The signs of a newborn."

My eyes grew wide with fear. A vampire? Ethan was a vampire? That was impossible right? But even if it was how was I supposed to explain that to his family? If I even could that is. They'd probably laugh in my face and tell me that I was lying.

I took a shaky breath and tried to calm down my heart that was beating at an erratic pace at the moment. Embry unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me onto his lap. He lifted my chin with his hand and made me look at him directly in the eyes.

"Gab, don't worry. I'm here; I'll protect you no matter what. I won't let him near you if he's a vampire. Heck, I still wouldn't if he was human after what he did to you! But Leah..." he trailed off.

"Leah?" I asked puzzled. "What's she got to do with anything?"

"Well, Leah kind of... imprinted on Ethan." He said slowly.

I looked at him with wide eyes. "What? When was this?"

"Umm, that time we were all at the beach."

"What?" I yelled. "Why did you not tell me?"

"I'm sorry; it's just that I thought I might upset you if I brought him up." He responded.

"So you kept it from me instead? That doesn't make it any better!" I said. "Would you even have told me if this hadn't happened?"

"Well, yeah... maybe. But knowing you, you'd eventually find out anyway even if I tried to keep it from you."

I thought about what he said. It was true so I couldn't deny it. "Okay fine, but I still don't like that you kept it from me."

"Aww baby I'm sorry." He said. "Let me make up for it."

He grabbed my chin and kissed me. It was short and sweet but it would do.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much." I answered, snuggling into his chest.

"Well, I should probably take you inside. I need to alert the pack about Ethan." He said.

"Yeah." I answered, opening the car door and climbing out with Embry following behind me.

We walked to the front door hand in hand and he stopped me just as I was about to knock on the door.

"There's another bonfire in two days; just the pack and imprints and the elders. You allowed?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure, but what time?" I asked.

"I'll pick you up at around half eight, sound good?"

"Yeah, it's just that Alex is leaving on that day aswell." I said.

"Oh, does Seth know?"

"Probably does, she went out with him today; she must've told him. But if she didn't would you mind telling him? So you know, he can make the most of the time he has left with her?"

"Yeah." He agreed. "Now, mind giving me a goodnight kiss?"

I giggled and leaned in for the kiss but the front door suddenly opened. My dad stood there with a knowing look and we jumped away from each other.

"Good evening Mr Russo." Embry greeted.

My dad returned the gesture with a lazy nod of the head. "Gabriella, you should come in; it's getting dark outside. And you should be getting home too." He said to Embry.

"Yes sir."

I gave him an awkward hug since my dad was standing there watching every move we were making.

"I'll sneak in later once everybody else is asleep, okay?" he whispered in my ear.

"Yeah, be careful though." I whispered back.

"Always am." He said. He pulled back and said a quiet goodnight before walking back to his car and driving off.

I walked inside the house where my dad was still eyeing me closely.

"What?" I asked, feeling self conscious.

"Now honey, I don't know of your mom has already explained this to you but-." He said before I cut him off.

"Dad, please don't talk to me about this now." I groaned, walking up the stairs.

"What? I would've eventually had to anyway." He answered as I continued to walk up the stairs. "Just remember-."

"Bye dad!" I yelled as I slammed the door to my room.

"Shh!" Alex hushed as she talked to someone on the phone. "Yeah, uh huh, here I need to go to the bathroom so talk to Gabriella for a while." She said, running out of the room while pushing the phone into my hands.

"Hello?" I spoke into the phone.

"Hey Gab." Came his response.

"Alex is away."

"I heard. So what's up?"

"The ceiling." I replied.

"Ha ha ha very funny."

"I know, I'm just the funniest person you've ever known right?"

"Yeah... sure."

"So have you told Alex about the whole wolf, imprinting thing?" I asked quietly, just in case she walked in at any moment.

I heard him sigh on the other line. "No, I just don't know how to tell her. Help me?"

"Well, my best advice is to just come out clean and just tell her everything and wish for the best in it."

"Well, that's a lot of help Gab, thanks!" I could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Since when did you get so sarcastic?"

"Ever since I started hanging out with Alex."

"That explains everything." I agreed, rolling my eyes as I remembered just how sarcastic Alex really was.

"But seriously, you need to hurry. She leaves in two days and god knows when she'll come back."

"Yeah I know. I'm running out of time. I'll try to tell her tomorrow."

"I'm back!" Alex announced loudly as she walked in.

"No one missed you." I teased.

"No one asked for your opinion." She shot back as I rolled my eyes at her.

"Here's Seth back; you can only really talk to him for a little while before you start to get a headache." I said, handing her the phone.

"I heard that you know!" he screamed from the phone.

"You were supposed to!" I screamed back.

I grabbed my pyjamas of the hook on the back of the door and walked to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and got changed before returning to the bathroom. By the time I got back, Alex was just lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing. Just thinking about things..."

"Things as in Seth?" I teased.

She blushed and I could tell that I was right. I smirked at her and she threw a pillow at my face. I caught it just before it hit me in the face though. I threw it back at her and she rested her head on it.

"So you're starting to have feelings for him?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as a response. "I guess. I don't know okay? I'm just confused. I haven't even known him for a long time, just like a month including the other time I was here?"

"So? It could be love at first sight, you never know."

She snorted at my suggestion, "Things like that just don't exist Gab. I learnt that from Mason." She said somewhat sadly.

"Well, does Seth seem like he'd do the same thing to you?"

"I don't know." She shrugged indifferently.

"Well, you should give him a chance, boys aren't all the same."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "What?" I asked.

"Ever since when did you become the love guru?" she teased.

"Ever since you got stupid about boys." I replied as I sat down on the bed.

"Oh, and you're going to have to sleep on the floor tonight." I said.

"Why?"

"Because Embry's coming over tonight and I seriously doubt my bed could hold all our weight or even fit all of us on it."

"But why can't he be the one to sleep on the floor?" she whined.

"Because I prefer him over you." I answered simply.

"That's offensive Gab."

"Ask me do I care?"

"Whatever."

"So, plans for tomorrow? Going out with Seth again?"

"No, how about just you and me hang out? We haven't had that for a while." She suggested.

"Sounds good."

**Well, I actually updated on Sunday. That's a shocker isn't it? But anyway yeah. So Ethan's back in the picture, and he'll be in it for a bit longer than you'd expect but up next is an Alex and Gabriella day. So Remember to review and thanks! Xx **


	34. Chapter 34: Bonding Day

**Hey guys! So yeah I know, I'm late updating again. I can't really tell you guys an excuse except for the fact that it's summer. Before I start the chapter, can anyone help me with a problem? See, I have an iPhone and I kinda dropped it so now the whole back of it is smashed. I don't know what to do! So, does anyone have any advice for me? But, enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 34: Bonding Day.**

_Gabriella's POV_

The first thing that I felt once I started to stir awake was that it was warm. Very warm. Which could only mean two things; either a miracle had happened in La Push and there was a heat wave taking place or Embry was lying in bed with his arms wrapped around me. I'm betting that it was Embry.

I opened my eyes and was met with Embry's serene face as he continued to sleep. I smiled at him and kissed his cheek gently. He started to stir but I calmed him down and he soon fell asleep again.

I started to stroke my fingers through his silky, black hair. It was a habit of mine to do this; it was just so soft. Embry always slapped my hand away when I did it but he would eventually give in when I didn't quit bugging him about it.

I sat up on one shoulder and looked around the room. I was so tempted to burst out laughing when I saw Alex and Asia together in the single bed. They both looked like they were about to fall off anytime. It wasn't exactly a good idea to put those two together in the bed. They kicked and moved about like crazy during the middle of the night. I and Embry only fit in my one because he usually put him on top of him. Not that I minded though because he was almost always shirtless because of the crazy wolf temperature he had.

"What's so funny?" a voice asked.

I jumped back and felt someone grab onto my shoulder just before I hit the floor. I soon saw that it was Embry.

"Jesus, you scared me! I thought you were still sleeping." I whispered at him.

He chuckled, "Ok, first of all, I'm not Jesus and second of all, you're attempt at trying not to laugh was a fail. Well, it's probably because I have super hearing or you need to work on your being quiet skills."

"Oh, ha-ha very funny. Guess who's not going to get a good morning kiss from me?"

"Danny? Josh?" he teased.

"Nope, some guy named Embry Call." I replied, turning in his arms so I was facing away from him.

"Aww, come on baby! I was just joking." He said, putting his chin in the space between my neck and shoulder. "Please forgive me."

I pretended to think about it for a while but eventually gave in and turned to face him again.

"Ok, you're forgiven." I said, leaning in closer to his face. "Now how about that good morning kiss I was talking about?"

"That's my girl." He said, closing the space between us and kissing me gently on the lips.

He pulled me on top of him and the kiss gradually got rougher until we heard a howl rise out of the forest. We pulled apart and Embry groaned.

"Every time." He mumbled, getting out of bed to climb out the window. "I have to go. I'll come back later?"

"Uh, maybe around six, me and Alex are spending the day together before she leaves tomorrow."

"Oh ok, I'll call you later." He said, bending down to peck me on the lips.

"Ok, be careful." I called out as he opened the window.

"Always am." He responded before jumping out the window and running into the forest.

I sighed and lay back down on the bed. I tried to occupy myself with something to do but got bored after a while so I stood up and walked over to Asia's bed. I stared at my Alex's sleeping form. Her arm was hanging off the edge of the bed and her mouth was slightly open as she snored lightly.

I laughed and shook her awake. "Alex! Alex, wake up!" I yelled.

"Wha-." She grunted as she fell off the bed and into the floor. She looked up and saw me towering over her. "What do you want? It's too early to be up."

"Well, Embry left and I'm bored so you have to wake up now." I explained, pulling her up from the floor.

"Why couldn't you have woken up someone else?" she mumbled sleepily as she collapsed on top of my bed and closed her eyes.

"Come on, wake up! We can go eat now if you want."

She opened one eye to look at me. "What kind of food?"

I chuckled, "I should've known that's what it would take to get you up."

She rolled her eyes, "Seriously, what food are we going to eat?"

"Anything you want so come on."

"Fine."

She sat up in bed and put on her slippers. We then walked downstairs still in our pyjamas. I opened the door to the living room and was immediately hit with a foul stench.

"Ugh, what is that?" I questioned as I covered my nose with my hand.

"I think Max is up." Alex answered, heading to the kitchen with me following closely behind.

She opened the kitchen door and the smell got even worse. By the stove, we saw Max stirring a pot full of god knows what.

"Max! What is that?" Alex yelled by the door.

"An experiment, what does it look like it is?" he responded happily before continuing to stir the mysterious pot.

"Stop it, it smells disgusting!" I said as I opened up the windows in the kitchen.

"All right fine. I'm going back to bed." He said, turning off the stove and walking back upstairs.

Alex rolled her eyes at him and sat down at the table. "Sometimes I wonder if he's adopted or not."

"Oh honey, we all do." I replied as I opened the fridge door to look for something to eat.

I suddenly heard a beep go off, "What was that?"

"That was my phone, Seth just texted me." She replied.

I gave her a knowing look, "Oh shut up Gabriella. You and Embry text each other this early in the morning too."

"Yeah, but that's ok because we're actually dating. I don't know why you keep trying to act like you don't; it's obvious you're falling for him."

"No I'm not! Shut up." She grumbled as there was another beep. She read the message and blushed. I laughed at her.

"What'd he say now?"

"He's asking me to go on a date with him tonight. What should I say?"

"Say yes you idiot! God, you're so difficult."

"He's your ex Gab, are you sure it's ok?" she asked unsure.

"If it wasn't do you think I would even be talking to you right now?"

"Good point. What's there to eat?"

"Of course." I grumbled as I started to look through the cupboards. "Well there's cereal, eggs, bread and nutella. What'd you want?"

"Mmm, what cereal is there?" she asked looking thoughtful.

"Lucky charms and Frosties."

"When are you going to get over Lucky Charms?"

"Um, never. They're too good."

"Personally, I prefer Cookie Crisp." She answered. "Can we go out to look for an outfit for my date tonight?"

"I wasn't asking for your opinion and yeah sure, we can borrow dad's car and go to Port Angeles. So Lucky Charms or Frosties?"

"Frosties." She answered.

"Shame on you Alex, shame." I teased as I poured a bowl for her and a bowl of Lucky Charms for me.

"Whatever Gab."

I brought the two bowls over and began to eat quietly while Alex continued to text Seth.

-0-

"Who are you going on a date with?" Justin asked curiously as he entered my room.

"None of your business." She snapped.

"Actually it is; I'm your older brother, it's my job to protect you."

"Yeah protect me, not be my bodyguard 24/7. And besides you've met him and gotten along with him. You don't need to worry."

"It's Seth." I mouthed over to Justin as Alex turned around to fix her hair.

"Could it possibly be Seth?" Justin asked, trying to act casual.

Alex gasped and threw a pillow at my head. "Gab! You weren't supposed to tell him!"

"I'm sorry, but he's right; he deserves to know. Consider this payback to when you and Danny teased me and Embry." I replied as I high fived Justin.

"Guys, hurry, it's almost one o'clock." Josh shouted from the other side of the door.

"Ok!" I yelled back. "Alex hurry up! You have time to look all dolled up later; not now."

"Fine." She said.

Me, Alex and Justin headed downstairs and walked into the car where Josh was waiting for us.

"Finally." He said as we all climbed in.

-0-

"Can we go eat now?" Josh whined as Alex entered yet another clothes store.

"No, I still need to find the perfect outfit. And stop complaining!" Alex said, waving him off with her hand.

"Gab?" he said pleadingly at me.

"Alex, come on, let's take a break."

"Ugh, Justin, Josh, you guys go, Gab you stay here with me." She ordered.

"Why? I'm hungry too!" I complained.

"You're the only girl here so suck it up."

"Fine."

"Ok, we're going. Just call us when you're finished." Josh said as he and Justin walked away.

"Here, I'm just going to look over there by the shorts." I said.

"Ok, I'll just be here by the shirts." She replied.

I walked over to the shorts rack and started looking through all the different designs. I saw one that looked pretty nice so I picked it up and was just about to go over to the changing rooms when I felt someone breathing in close to my neck. Goosebumps started to appear on the back of my neck because of the cold breath.

"Miss me?" Said the voice.

I gasped. I knew that voice. It was the voice that belonged to the guy who appeared in my nightmares. The guy I used to call my best friend. The guy who tried to take away my innocence. It was Ethan.

I was just being paranoid; maybe I was just hearing things. But my mind wasn't hallucinating because as soon as I turned around, there he stood, staring at me intently with a smirk playing on his lips. And his eyes were red; blood red.

"Ethan?"

**I just couldn't resist putting that cliff hanger there Haha but I really am sorry I didn't update. But onto other things, has anyone else seen The Amazing Spiderman? I saw it last night and I have a new crush; yep, Andrew Garfield. He's just so hot. But anyway, remember to review and thanks! Xx ps. I'm not making any more promises. And pps. Yes, I know it's not a Sunday but oh well! :D**


	35. Chapter 35: Alex Finds Out

**Hi! Yeah, so it's been about a month since my last update. Bad, I know. But I've been really busy. Hope you guys haven't forgotten about this story! ;) So onto other things... I've got a new chapter for you guys! (Obviously!) Enjoy! :D **

**Chapter 35: Alex Finds Out. **

_Gabriella's POV_

"Ethan, what're you doing here?" I asked in horror and surprise.

"Aww... You didn't miss me?" He teased.

"If Embry finds out, you're dead." I threatened even though my shaky voice gave it away.

"He's not going to find out." He hissed at me. "Because if he does... well, you wouldn't be that stupid now would you?"

"What do you want Ethan?" I spat at him as I backed away from him slowly.

"To talk," He started, eyeing Alex who was too busy looking at a clothes rack to notice what was happening. "Alone."

I let out a humourless laugh, "You want me to talk to you alone after what you did to me? You can go to hell!"

"Keep it down." He growled. "People are staring."

I glared at him as he watched me closely. Was he out of his mind? Did he really think that I would go talk to him alone after what he tried to do to me? Maybe he had gone crazy because of the vampire venom. Either way, I was NOT going to agree to anything he suggested.

"Well? Made up your mind yet?" he asked, obviously getting impatient.

"Yes. And my mind told me that you're completely insane!" I answered fiercely.

He growled and yanked my wrist, pulling me closer to him. He had a dangerous look in his eye that created shivers all over my body.

"Listen to me, and listen well. You will come and talk to me alone. You can do it the easy way or the hard way; you choose. But you will do it." He threatened.

I was just about to answer when a saleslady walked up to us.

"Excuse me, is everything all right over here?" she asked, eyeing Ethan's hand which was still gripping my wrist securely.

"Yes it is. He was just about to leave." I answered, forcing a smile as I yanked my wrist away from his hold since Ethan had loosened his grip when the saleslady came over. I glared at him and I could see fury in his blood red eyes.

"Oh ok, I was just curious." She said before slowly walking away, but not before giving us another glance.

I backed away from Ethan. "Leave now." I whispered to him so nobody else would get suspicious.

"Fine. But we'll talk one day, just you and me. You'll see." He whispered coldly at me and suddenly disappeared as soon as I blinked my eyes.

I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he hadn't kidnapped me. I don't know what would've happened if he had. _Probably turned you into one of them aswell_ my mind told me. I shook my head to try and get rid of that thought.

I put back the shorts I didn't realise I was still holding and rushed over to where Alex was. She was busy inspecting a top she was holding up. She showed slight interest at the t-shirt but as soon as she saw me coming over, she hurriedly put it away.

"Hey Alex, let's go and eat now. I'm kinda hungry; we can come back later if you want?" I offered.

"Gab!" she whined. "Can't you hold back your hunger for a little while longer? There are still some racks I haven't looked through! I might finally find something there."

"No, now come on. We still need to go find Josh and Justin."

"Well, I think they said they would be in the food court so let's go check their first." Alex suggested.

"Right, let's go." I said, pulling her out of the shop as she stumbled behind me.

We passed a few different shops and every time she saw one that looked interesting, she would try to drag me inside. Fortunately, I was just the teeniest bit stronger than her so I managed to steer her away from them, of course with the promise to come back later, and get her back on the route to the food court.

We found the food court easily enough, well of course it did have a huge banner on top of the entrance saying 'FOOD COURT', but also I could smell the food a mile away.

We looked through the different tables and I finally spotted Josh and Justin sitting at a small table near the spot where they sold frozen yogurt.

"Come on, they're over there." I pointed out to Alex as she was still looking around the food court.

We were just about to approach the table when suddenly a person appeared in front of me. It took me by surprise and I jumped back in shock. I thought it was Ethan. I tried to calm down my racing heart once I realized it was just some guy who looked around our age.

"Whoa, you okay there ma'am?" he asked, flashing me a grin. All I could do was nod my head weakly at him. "I was just about to ask if you would like to try our free pretzel samples?"

"No thanks." I answered quickly, yanking Alex's arm away from the pretzel dude.

"Aww Gab come on! He was giving out free pretzel samples!" she groaned.

We approached Josh and Justin who looked like they were busy admiring the yogurt instead of eating it. Weirdos.

"Yo guys, did you know that they're handing out free samples of pretzels!" Alex exclaimed as soon we reached the table. She pulled over a chair from a nearby table and sat down.

"Where?" Josh asked excitedly.

"Over there!" Alex pointed to where the pretzel stand was.

"Why don't you guys have any then?" he asked curiously.

"Well someone wouldn't let us get some." Alex accused, looking at me.

I didn't reply and just pulled over a chair aswell. I sat down and looked at my hands.

"Gab, you alright?" Justin asked, looking at me worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered.

"Well, are you gonna get food or what? You did say you were hungry?" Alex asked, looking over at me with an eyebrow raised.

"I've lost my appetite, I don't feel hungry anymore." I replied.

"Are you sure? It's not healthy to not eat." Justin added.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, me and Justin are finished with our yogurts so we can go now." Josh said.

Alex groaned, "Really? We just got here and now you want to make me walk even more?"

"You'll live. Now come on." Justin said, hauling her up from the seat.

Josh wanted to go to the video store and pick up a game so we separated again. Justin went with Josh and I went with Alex to look for more outfits.

"We'll wait for you guys in the car!" Josh yelled as we turned to walk away.

"Ok!" I yelled back.

-0-

_Alex's POV_

I was so excited about tonight. I was going on a date with Seth and even though I was a bit wary of him at the start, I started to develop strong feelings for him since the Christmas dinner we had at Emily's. I mean, I had always secretly liked him before, you know when I first came to visit Gab because Seth had broke her heart?

But I was too scared to admit any feelings for him since he had just broken my cousin's heart, so I acted coldly towards him. He looked hurt when I ignored him but I tried to push it to the back of my mind. I had convinced myself that I was just imagining things.

So when I left La Push with Gabriella, since her asshole of a boyfriend Embry had cheated on her and she caught him red-handed, I tried to forget about him. But the more I tired, the more this tugging sensation on my spine became stronger. I had found it strange but ignored it nevertheless.

But back to the present, we would be leaving for New York tomorrow and I wouldn't know when I would see Seth again. The thought saddened me. I had had a good time here in La Push with my cousins and I had made new friends with Seth's friends.

And most importantly, it hurt me to think about leaving Seth. I don't know why, I mean, I had only known him for a short time and yet here I was thinking I couldn't live without him. I guess I was thinking these things because I was hungry... there better be food when we get home.

I looked over at Gabriella who was fast asleep. She seemed different. And she acted different, I mean, we were at the store earlier, I was looking through the different tops and she said she was going to look at some shorts. She was gone for quite a while but I hadn't looked for her because I was too busy looking through all the different racks. I eventually noticed her when she was approaching me.

I don't know if she knew but she looked really pale. I had wanted to ask if she was sick but she said she was hungry so I left it. And after, when we were looking for clothes again, she seemed alert of every move everyone made.

But anyway, I finally found an outfit for tonight. It was a pretty casual dress which was just above my knees. The top part was lacy and had a very nice design on it and there were thin spaghetti straps to hold it up. The dress was blue and was designed with all sort of different flowers.

I also found a nice denim waistcoat to match. It was short and reached just past my chest. I also bought some brown strappy sandals. I was pretty proud of my outfit; I thought it looked cute and was suitable for everything... I think.

Oh well. All I could do was wish for the best for tonight.

_Gabriella's POV_

"Gab, gab wake up!" came the voice. It sounded distant yet familiar.

I blinked my eyes open and saw Alex shaking me.

"Dude wake up! We're home!" she said.

I groaned and sat up. I started blinking my eyes a few times to wake myself up. I got out of the car and walked slowly to the door. Ugh. My head was killing me and I knew I would be in for a killer headache later.

"What time is it?" I asked Josh who was standing by the door.

"Five o'clock." He answered.

It was already five o'clock? Embry was coming over in an hour. I groaned once more and made my way upstairs. I was just casually walking upstairs when I felt something hard hit my head.

"Ow! What was that?" I yelled, holding my head and looking up. I saw Alex giving me a big grin. "Ugh, what do you want? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Yeah, but I need your help." She said happily.

"No thanks, I just wanna go to bed and sleep until dinner." I said.

"Too bad, you can sleep when you're dead. Right now, you're gonna help me, come on!" she said, yanking my arm and pulling me into the bedroom.

-0-

We spent the next hour curling her hair, doing her makeup and figuring out which bag would go with her outfit. If I thought I was bad, I don't know what she was. She was so fussy when it came to getting ready for a date.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom to add the finishing touches." Alex informed me. I nodded as she left.

I collapsed onto the bed and just when I thought I could have peace at last; my phone had to go off. With a sigh, I got up and reached for my phone. I looked at who had texted and saw that it was Seth.

I opened it.

_S: Hey Gab, I'm telling Alex tonight. _

_G: Good for you. But don't be too pushy. _

_S: Since when have I been pushy? _

_G: Ever since I met you... _

_S: That's hurtful Gab._

_G: Well man up and take it... I was just kidding anyway. Good luck with tonight. _

_S: Thanks :) _

After I was done texting him, I threw the phone beside me and lay back down. It was five to six. Embry would be here anytime. Alex suddenly walked through the door again.

"Well how do I look?" she asked.

"Do I look like a mirror to you?" I asked back.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm going now. Seth just texted saying he's standing outside near the door; I'll see you later."

"Bye!" I yelled after her as she ran down the stairs.

I continued to lie in bed. I wondered what would be for dinner tonight. Anything to distract me from thinking about earlier... I suddenly heard a tapping noise on my window. I sat up immediately. My heart started pounding against my chest.

Could it be Ethan coming after me? Where was Embry when I needed him?

I stood up slowly and started to walk cautiously to the window. I tried to calm down my heart. With a shaky hand, I grabbed the curtain. I could see someone's silhouette through the curtain; someone big. With a shaky breath, I yanked back the curtain to reveal none other than Embry. I let out a sigh of relief as he flashed me a smile.

I opened the window and Embry jumped in. He smiled at me before pulling me into his arms and kissing my forehead. I sighed in relief and wrapped my arms around him.

"I missed you Emb." I whispered.

He pulled back and looked at me directly in the eye, "I missed you too Gab."

He lifted me up bridal style, causing me to giggle, and laid me down on the bed. He climbed in after me and lay down on his side facing me. I looked over at him and smiled.

"So, how was patrol? Catch any vampires?" I asked.

He chuckled, "We weren't that lucky today. It was just the usual; you know, running around the area with nothing exciting going on."

I frowned at him, "You weren't lucky? What do you mean by that? Shouldn't you be glad that you didn't run into vampires?" I asked, turning on my side aswell so that I could face him. He pulled me closer and encircled his arms around me once more.

"No, it's fun when a vampire comes around. It's something to do other than just running around an area you've run around a million times before." He answered.

"But, it avoids you from any danger if vampires don't come around the area."

"Gab, you know I could take care of myself, you don't need to worry about me." He said, running his fingers through my hair.

"That's not gonna stop me from worrying." I said, leaning into his chest.

He tightened his arms around me. It felt nice to be with him here in bed. He was so warm and he had taken away my uneasy feeling from earlier. I wanted to stay like this in his arms forever but I knew that I would eventually have to move sooner or later. I mean, it was almost dinner time, which reminded me...

"Emb, have you eaten yet?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah, I ate at Emily's before coming here. She insisted on it." He replied, smiling at me.

"Oh, well I have to go down for dinner soon, if you want you can come and eat again?" I suggested.

"Nah, while you're away I can get some sleep so I can talk to you for longer later tonight."

I chuckled, "Whatever you say."

We lay on the bed in silence, too lost in our own thought sand just enjoying each other's company I guess. I was thinking about what happened earlier. What did Ethan mean by what he said? _You'll see_ was the line that kept replaying over and over in my head.

And I wonder how things were going on between Alex and Seth on their date. Was he telling her about the secret now? I hoped for Seth's sake that Alex took it well enough. Alex was leaving tomorrow and neither of them knew when Alex would come back.

"Hey Gab." Embry said, distracting me from my thoughts.

I looked up at him, "Yes?"

"We haven't started on that science project we're supposed to be doing. You know, about the chemical equations and all?" he said.

I looked at him and burst out laughing.

He looked confused, "What? What's so funny?"

I tried to stop laughing and catch my breath back. "Oh, its cute how you thought I was actually gonna do that."

"So, what's gonna happen once we get back to school then?" he asked, looking worried.

"Well, we start back on a Monday, and we don't have science until Wednesday so we have two days to do it." I responded.

"Really Gab? Last minute?"

"Yep, I can't be bothered Embry. It's Christmas holiday anyway."

"Whatever, it's-."

"Gabriella! It's time for dinner!" My mom yelled from, I'm guessing, the bottom of the stairs.

"Ugh, I'm coming!" I yelled back. "I'll be back later." I said, untangling myself from Embry's arms and straightening up my clothes. I looked at him one last time before closing the door and making my way downstairs to eat.

-0-

"So, what time are you guys leaving tomorrow?" Danny asked, as we all ate dinner.

My mom had made enchiladas along with Aunt Teresa along with some corns, peas and Yorkshire puddings.

"Well, the plane leaves at eleven in the morning and the drive takes about an hour and a half so we'll leave at around seven." Justin answered.

Uncle Jerry almost spat out his water, making everyone stare at him.

"Seven? You know I can't wake up that early!" he complained.

"Well, unless you wanna miss the plane and pay for another flight, you can wake up late." Justin answered.

I was just about to interrupt and say that they could get a refund or something but he kicked me under the table before I could say anything. I glared at him and mouthed _shut up _to me. I rolled my eyes and continued to eat instead.

"Ok, we leave at seven tomorrow." Jerry answered.

I held back a laugh.

We all continued to eat the food and make small talk with everyone until all the food was gone. It was me and Asia on dish duty tonight so I cleared the table while she started on the dishes. Everyone went into the living room to finish packing and watch a movie.

I closed the door in the kitchen and started to clear the dishes Asia had washed.

"So, Embry's staying over tonight." I said casually.

"Surprise, surprise." Asia teased. Ok, Embry had stayed over most nights now.

"Shut up. And you still can't tell mom and dad or I'll carve your ovaries out." I threatened.

Asia shuddered. "That doesn't sound pleasant."

"Oh trust me, it isn't." I replied.

"And you would know this because?"

"I don't. But I'm guessing so shut up."

"Well then."

We worked in silence after that and after, we both walked to the living area where everybody was. They were all watching Rush Hour and laughing their heads off. I couldn't blame them; it was a funny movie after all.

"Well, I'm going up now, see you guys tomorrow." I said, hugging Justin and Max and Aunt Teresa and Uncle Jerry.

"Okay, but honey remember, if you're coming to the airport, you have to be ready by seven." My mom reminded.

"Yeah, I will." I opened the door that lead to the stairs and just as I was about to walk up, the front door suddenly flew open.

In walked a crying Alex that looked like a mess. Seth was following closely behind her looking desperate.

"Alex please! Wait!" he called after her.

"Just leave me alone, I don't want to talk to you anymore." she shouted before running up the stairs.

Seth looked at me with a pained expression.

"Just give her some space. I'll talk to her." I told Seth as I ran up the stairs to talk to Alex.

I saw her running into the bathroom and Embry coming out of my room, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked me.

"Seth told her." I replied, walking to the bathroom and banging on the door.

"Alex, please open up the door and talk to me." I pleaded with her. I could hear her sobbing in the bathroom and I wanted top just run in and comfort her.

"Just leave me alone!" Came her response.

**Ok, so Alex knows now! But she didn't exactly take it well did she? But just give her some time. She is his imprint after all; she can't resist him. Once again, I'm so SORRY for being MIA. But I posted a chapter finally! If only I could upload chapters using my phone it would be more frequent but I can't :( So as always, thanks for reading and please Review! Xx **


	36. Chapter 36: Space

**Hey, so here's the next chapter! I want to dedicate this chapter to my best friend here on fanfiction called lunalicious24601! Love you! :) Oh and just in case you guys didn't already know, I don't own anything or anybody except for Gabriella and the rest of her family, excluding Alex and her family. Anyways, enjoy! :D **

**Chapter 36: Space.**

_Gabriella's POV_

__"Please Gab! Just leave me alone right now. I need to be alone, you don't understand!" Alex yelled through the bathroom door.

I sighed and turned to everyone who was crowding the hallway. I looked at each and every one of them who were all staring at me. I raised an eyebrow at them.

"Why is everybody staring at me for?" I asked confused.

They immediately looked away and nobody answered my question. We all kind of just stood outside the bathroom door listening to Alex's cries while trying to figure out what to do next. But I knew what needed to be done...

"Guys, how about you let me talk to her. Just go downstairs and finish packing away; I'll call you guys later once she's calmed down." I suggested.

Teresa looked hesitant but went down with everybody else.

Once everyone was gone, I saw Embry stick his head out from my door. He looked concerned and walked out of my room to wrap his arms around me. I sighed and leaned into his warm chest, wrapping my arms around his own waist.

"I need to go talk to her about you guys Emb; I'm the only she'll open up about this right now." I explain.

"I understand. Go do what you have to do; I'll be waiting in your bedroom for you." he whispers gently, kissing my forehead in assurance.

I nod at him and knock on the bathroom door again while he walks back into the bedroom.

"Alex please, I understand what you're going through right now. Trust me." I plead one more time.

"What do you mean you understand?" she asks.

"Just open up the door and we'll talk."

Soon, the door opened, revealing the tear stained face of Alex. I immediately pulled her into a hug and she burst out crying again.

"Ok, I don't need your tears to stain my shirt." I teased, gently pushing her away from me and pulling her to sit with me on the floor.

She tried to laugh while more tears overflowed from her eyes. I rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Ok, so what happened between you and Seth that you never want to see him again?" I asked, pretending to be curious. Even though I already knew what happened, I wanted to find out why she had freaked out so much.

"You won't believe me if I told you the truth." she answered, burying her face in her tucked up knees.

"Try me. You might be surprised with what you find out." I urged on.

"Well ok... but Seth's a... umm... werewolf." she answered quietly.

"And?"

She looked at me like I had two heads. "You're not scared by that fact?"

"Nope. I already know." I replied simply.

Her mouth dropped and formed an 'O' shape. "What? How? When?"

"Ok, slow down. I know because of Embry."

"Embry? But I thought they couldn't tell you unless they imprin-." she began until realization dawned on her face. "You're Embry's imprint aren't you?"

I nodded. "Yes. And I'm proud to be his imprint." I said smiling.

"But- but- he cheated on you! Remember him and Jasmine! And don't you hate being tied down? It's like they're forcing you to love them; you don't get a choice." she asked, obviously confused by the new information I was giving her.

"Alex... imprinting isn't like that. With imprinting, even though it doesn't seem like it, you have a choice. Once a wolf imprints on you, you become their whole world; you're the most important thing to them. They'll do anything to make you happy and give you everything you want and need. But, it's your choice if you want to be with them; they'll either be your protector, friend or lover. You pick. They just want you to be happy, even if it hurts them. So, you're not exactly tied down. I'm with Embry because I chose to be with him. He makes me happy and I love him." I said.

"But... he cheated on you remember? With Jasmine? How could you accept him after that?" she asked.

I sighed. I should've known she was going to ask about this. "Alex... none of us is perfect; we all make mistakes because we're all human beings. I chose to forgive Embry for the one thing he had done wrong out of all the good things he's done for me. You choose Alex. But let me warn you about something; the more you're apart from each other, the more you'll hurt and the stronger the pull will get."

She looked at me. "Gab... I'm just not ready. I mean, I did go out on a date with him and all but... I'm not ready for another serious relationship. Especially after how my last one ended badly."

"I understand," I said, nodding my head in understanding, "but at least try to be friends with him. It'll make things easier for you, even if you're not ready for a relationship with him yet. Now, I'll leave you to your thoughts. I'll be in my room if you need me." I said, standing up and squeezing her shoulders one more time before leaving to go to my bedroom.

I turned the doorknob gently, not wanting to wake Embry up if he was sleeping, even though I doubted he would be. He saw up straight in bed once I walked in and closed the door silently. He had an anxious look on his face and pulled me into his arms once I got close enough. I melted into him and sat on his lap, while he rubbed my back comfortingly.

"Is she ok?" he whispered at me.

I looked him in the eye and sighed. I leaned my head in the crook of his neck and sighed. "I don't know. She doesn't seem too happy about the imprinting stuff. But the wolf stuff... well, she didn't really say anything about that. I think she needs some space to take it all in."

"Seth is probably so worried right now. It's not a pleasant feeling when your imprint rejects you." he replied.

"I know, but I can't do anything about Alex right now. I can't just force her to love him." I said, yawning.

Embry chuckled. "You seem tired, you want to sleep now? You do have to wake up early to go to the airport right?"

"Yeah, they're leaving tomorrow." I said, looking up at Embry as he kissed my forehead.

He didn't reply, instead he just stood up, still carrying me and pulled back the covers on my bed. He lay me down and soon followed before wrapping the covers around us. I snuggled even closer to him, enjoying the warmth radiating of his warm body.

"Gab, was it true?" Embry asked, sounding unsure.

I pulled back a little, just so I could see his face, "What was true?"

"The thing you said about me when Alex asked about me and Jasmine?"

"Yes it's true. You've done so many good things for me and the one thing you did with Jasmine seems so stupid compared to them." I reached up and pecked his cheek. "I love you."

He smiled at me and kissed me softly on the lips. "I love you too Gab."

We lay there in each other's arms for a long time, just enjoying this blissful moment with each other. Then, I remembered Alex who was crying in the bathroom.

"Emb, has Alex stopped crying yet?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, I can hear the tap running; she might be cleaning up now. Is she staying in the room tonight?"

"Yeah, maybe. I doubt she'll get any sleep though; she has a small tendency to over think some things. We'll find out tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess."

-0-

"Gabriella! Gabriella, wake up! We're leaving in forty five minutes, with or without you!" someone yelled up the stairs. I think it was mom.

I groaned and pulled Embry's massive arm which was wrapped around my waist. I was sweating from lying next to Embry all night; he was like a space heater. Once I got to pull it off me, I sat up in bed, staring down at his peaceful form.

I smiled and shook his shoulder wildly. "Embry! Embry wake up! We have to leave soon and you still have to fake arriving!"

"Gab! Five more minutes please." He groaned sleepily.

"No Embry! Get your lazy ass up now." I answered, still shaking his shoulder.

He let out what sounded like an annoyed groan and sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I have to go to the airport to drop of Alex and her family remember? They're going back today." I replied.

"Oh yeah, I still need to check up on how Seth's doing." he said, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Yeah you go do that, and make sure he's not trying to kill himself. If Alex ever changes her mind, I don't think she's gonna wanna visit him in the hospital or worse, his grave." I said.

He chuckled at my response. "I'll be back soon. Wait for me by the backdoor." He said giving me a quick peck at the lips before walking to the window. He opened it and with one last look at me, jumped out.

I groaned again and walked to my wardrobe, picking out a simple white shirt, jeans and a green hoodie to get changed quickly into. I laid them out on my bed before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. I walked out of my bedroom and turned the knob to the bathroom door but it was locked.

I banged on the door with my fist. "Whoever's in there hurry up!"

"You can't rush me when I'm doing my makeup!" Asia yelled.

"Ugh, just do it inside the bedroom! We're leaving soon and I need to get ready!"

"Eww no! Your boyfriend is in there!"

"No he's not! He's already left and he's coming back soon to come with us to the airport."

The bathroom door soon opened to reveal Asia putting on lip-gloss. She huffed and I pushed her out of the way get ready.

I turned on the water and put the plug in the whole. Once there was a reasonable amount of water, I turned off the water, and started splashing my face with it. I grabbed some soap and rubbed my face with it.

Once I was finished, I pulled the plug and started applying moisturise to my face. I looked at myself in the mirror and decided I was finished. I went back to my bedroom and quickly got changed into the clothes I had already prepared. I threw up my long hair into a messy ponytail, some white converse on my feet and headed downstairs.

Everybody was busy doing last minute packing and eating breakfast. I avoided all the chaos happening with fighting over the remote and food. I rolled my eyes at my brothers and cousins who were being immature.

I walked into the kitchen where Alex was sitting at the table all by herself. She had a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her that looked like it hadn't been touched yet and she was just pushing it around. I sighed and pulled out a chair to sit next to her.

After a few minutes of silence, I finally ended it. "Are you ok?"

She looked up at me and tried to fake a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah, I'm coping I guess."

I asked her the question I was dying to know the answer to. "Are you gonna say goodbye to him before you leave?"

She was quiet for a few seconds, like she was thinking carefully about this. "No."

I was kind of expecting that answer but I had hoped she wouldn't be stubborn. "That's going to hurt Seth big time."

She dropped the fork that was in her hand onto the plate. "I'm just not ready Gab. It's not easy to take this all in; I can't be like you who took it so well and now you're with your soulmate or whatever." there was an edge in her tone and I knew she was starting to get pissed.

"Ok, calm down. I was just saying." I said, trying to calm her down.

She sighed. "I know Gab, sorry. It's just I'm bit cranky from not getting any sleep last night. I just couldn't; every time I closed my eyes all I saw was him. That he was going to turn into a giant wolf and hurt me."

"Alex... Seth will never hurt you." I said, rubbing her hand assuringly.

"Ok. But I'm just not ready for another relationship right now. I need some space."

"I can understand that. But at least think about giving him a chance." I replied.

Just then, we heard a howl rise out of the forest. Alex started to panic but I assured her that she was safe. I saw a grey wolf come out from the forest and I pointed him out to Alex.

"Is... Is that Seth?" she asked, looking worried.

"No, it's just Embry. Don't worry, he was just checking on how Seth was doing." I assured her.

"Oh. Well, I'm going to finish packing the rest of my stuff. I'll see you later." she said, getting up and leaving. I stood up aswell and put her food in the microwave before heading outside to meet Embry. It was chilly today and I was glad I had put on a hoodie. Embry stepped out behind a tree, fully dressed.

I raised an eyebrow at him as he pulled me into hug. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing, it's just weird to see you fully dressed, since you walked around half naked all the time. Not that I mind that is."

He laughed. "I didn't think you would. And, I'm trying to make a good impression for your dad in case he sees us, he hates me if you haven't noticed." he said.

"Aww baby, maybe you could come over to dinner sometime so my parents can finally see that you're good for me?" I suggested, smiling at the thought of having Embry over to meet my parents formally.

"Sounds like a plan." he answered before cupping both my cheeks and kissing me.

This kiss was longer and more passionate than this morning's one. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his arms snaked their way around my waist. He pushed me back against a tree held me even tighter. Just then someone had to interrupt.

"Gab! Mom says we're leaving soon. And I don't think dad's going to wanna come back round here and see you making out with Embry near the forest." Danny said, with a smug grin on his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Whatever Danny, I'll be in soon."

"Ok, but don't take too long." he said, winking playfully at us.

I groaned and leaned my head into his chest. "I hate him so much sometimes. How's Seth coping?"

"Just barely. Sam's ordered us all to stay out of being a wolf for now. Said Seth needs some space to think for himself without any of us interrupting him. I don't mind, it'll give me some more time to spend with you later." he said, throwing me a wink.

"Poor guy, hopefully, Alex changes her mind soon. But I have to go now Emb, see you later?" I asked hopeful.

"Yeah, I'll just be at Emily's house eating." he answered, causing me to laugh. "Just call me or text me when you're home. But I would prefer if you would call me."

"Don't worry, I will. And are you ever going to get tired of eating?"

"Nah, I love eating too much."

"Even more than me?" I teased.

"Hmm, well I guess I do love you more..." he replied, pretending to think.

"Hey!"I said, playfully punching him. "I have to go now, oh and by the way, you just wasted getting fully dressed since my dad didn't even come out." I said, laughing at him as I walked away. I waved one last time before walking inside.

"'Bout time you got here, we thought we'd have to leave without you." Josh said as everyone started shuffling outside to go to the cars.

Danny still had that smug grin on his face, "Oh she was just outside with Embry in the woods."

"Oh, getting down and dirty are we now?" Josh snickered.

"You wish." I answered, before elbowing them both and stalking out to the cars.

-0-

"You're going to call me as soon as you land, no exceptions all right?" I instructed Alex.

She laughed and hugged me tightly. "I will, you know I will."

"Good, if you don't I'm going to hunt you down."

"No need, you know I'll call. Harper might be on aswell though."

"Harper? I haven't seen her in ages!"

"I know, but she's doing well. She's with Zeke now, you know, Justin's dorky friend."

"He is not a dork! He's just smart! Maybe not as smart as me but still smart." Justin called from a distance.

"In other words, a dork." Alex added once he was engrossed on another conversation with Danny, Josh and Max.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. I was really going to miss my cousins, even though we hadn't even spent that much time together during their holiday, which I regret. It reminded me of when I was still a child.

"I'm going to miss you cuz." I said, hugging her again.

"I'm going to miss you too."

Just then, they loudspeaker announced that they were boarding flights. I hugged Alex one last time before moving on to Justin, Max, Aunt Teresa and Uncle Jerry.

We all waved at them one last time as they disappeared from our sight to go back to New York. The bonfire tonight would be interesting.

**Phew, that was kind of a long chapter! So anyways, you know the usual, Thanks for reading and remember to hit the review button! Xx **


	37. Chapter 37: Cookies

**Ok, I know, it's been a month since the last one. Apologies but if you want somebody to blame, there's school. Yup school because ever since that started I've barely gotten any free time. So I'm sorry again but enjoy! :D **

**Chapter 37: Cookies.**

_Embry's POV_

_*In wolf form*_

_"Ugh, she hates me. What have I done? My life's over. I'm going to die alone while everyone else is married and has kids. I really screwed up. Why can't I just get hit by a bus?" _

_"Oh my god Seth, just shut up." Paul grumbled at him. "We get it, she hates your ass but moping isn't going to help you." _

_"Paul, ease up on him. He's hurting. And it doens't help that she's leaving for New York today and he doesn't know when's he going to see her again." I said, stepping in for Seth because when it came to being sensitive, Paul was not the right guy to talk to. _

_"Whatever." Paul replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm going; Quil's phasing soon to go up to Claire's house." And with that, he left. _

_"Why did he even phase if he couldn't handle my thoughts?" Seth asked mostly to himself. _

_"Because Sam wants us to check up on you every now and then. Make sure you aren't killing yourself or doing anything stupid." _

_"Why won't you guys just leave me alone? None of you understand how I feel anyway." He grumbled. _

_"I do." I responded. "Remember when Gab left for LA? I didn't see her or have any contact with her whatsoever for three whole months. But now look at us; we're stronger than ever again. Don't lose hope Seth, just because it feels like she'll never accept you." _

_"I guess... Thanks Embry. You know, for explaining it to me." he replied. _

_"Yeah, yeah whatever. Enough of this cheesy bullshit, I spend way to much time with the imprintees that I'm starting to sound like a girl. Wanna go cliff diving?" I said, making a mental note to try and spend some more time with the guys. I was starting to act and talk like a girl now. _

_"Maybe later, I don't feel like it right now." _

_"Ok." _

_After that, we were silent until Quil finally phased. _

_"Hey, what up?" he asked in his usual cheery tone. _

_"Nothing." Seth mumbled. Quil rolled his eyes at Seth's tone. _

_"Sam said that if you need his help just howl. Oh and Embry, Sam said to go back to Emily's to eat soon. It is your day off anyway and Seth needs some 'alone time' as Sam put it."_

_"Finally, someone gets that I need to be alone!" Seth said in gratitude and annoyance. _

_"But someone's going to check up on you hourly." Quil added. _

_Seth then groaned. "I should've known." _

_"Dude, what's to eat at Emily's?" I asked, hungry since I hadn't ate since last night. _

_"Food Embry, food." Quil answered sarcastically. _

_"Really? I didn't know you could." I deadpanned. _

_"Whatever." _

_"I'm leaving, see you guys later. And Seth, good luck with Quil." I said before walking over to a tree and focusing on things that made me calm. Of course, Gabriella came into mind almost immediately. I soon found myself on two feet again and I pulled on my shorts. _

I decided to walk the rest of the way to Emily's instead of being in Seth and Quil's mind. One can only take so much of Quil in a day. Don't get me wrong, I loved Quil like he was my own brother but somethimes you need some peace and let's face it; he was talkative. I thought about my mom and her being all alone at home. I felt guilty that I hadn't spent as much time with her as I used to before I phased. I knew she felt hurt by me leaving all the time but it was my responsibility. I couldn't just endanger the lives of the people of the tribe. I just hoped she understood.

I saw some birds flying above my head and noticed how quiet and peaceful the forest sounded. I wished that I could just lay down and enjoy the serenity but my stomach was growling at me for not eating since last night so it probably wasn't a good idea. I quickened my pace a little bit and reached Emily's house soon enough.

I had always loved Emily's house; it had become a second home to me once I phased. Emily always gave us a place to stay whenever we needed to crash after a long patrol and she always fed us whenever we got hungry. I couldn't remember a time when she wasn't at the stove cooking something. She had become a second mother to me in the short time I've known her and I appreciated it.

I heard the familiar shouting over the food and the aroma of what Emily's cooking hit me and made my stomach growl even louder. I entered the house and laughed at the site in front of me. Paul and Jared were fighting over the last cookie and Sam was in the middle of them telling Paul off for throwing a plate at Jared's head.

I couldn't hold my laughter anymore and started laughing until my stomach was aching from all my laughter.

"Shut it Call!" Paul growled at me.

I shook my head at him and took a seat at the table. "I'm good thanks." I answered before grabbing the cookie they were fighting about off the plate and shoving it whole in my mouth.

Jared and Paul gaped at me while Sam sighed in relief.

Sam looked at me, "Thank you so much."

"Embry! That was supposed to be my cookie!"Jared whined.

"I think you mean _my_ cookie." Paul said while glaring at Jared.

"Well it's gone now and there's nothing you can do about it. You guys are so childish." I responded, shaking my head at them.

"It was Emily's cookies!" Paul argued.

"It was still just a cookie!" I shot back.

Sam rolled his eyes at us, "Quit it or else you'll both be on patrol for the next month."

We both shut up immediately. Just then, Emily came in holding a plate overflowing with cookies. Paul stood up so fast and was rushing over to Emily but Sam caught him just in time.

"Woah, calm down. It's just cookies Paul." Sam warned.

Paul sat back down and once the cookies were on the table, his hand immediately shot out and grabbed two which he shoved in his mouth. Emily whacked him with a wooden spoon on top of his head.

"Manners!" she scolded before walking back into the kitchen.

Paul scowled at her retreating form but Sam gave him a warning look and it disappeared from his face. Instead, he proceeded to stuff his face in cookies. Me and Jared rolled our eyes at him before following suit. I had to hand it to Paul; Emily's cookies really were amazing.

"Damn, I gotta get Gab to start baking." I said while munching on a cookie.

"I thought she already baked?"Jared asked curiously.

"Well yeah she does... if I beg her." I responded, shrugging my shoulders.

"She makes you beg just to get her baking? I wonder what you'll have to beg for once you guys are married." Paul added, laughing.

"I don't get how that was funny." I replied, glaring at him.

"I was just saying dude, no need to get all pissy on me." He grumbled.

"Quit it and just enjoy the cookies will you?" Sam asked as he took a seat next to me. "You're acting like a bunch of kids."

"It's Paul's fault." I defended.

"Was not."

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Shut up!" Sam yelled at us. "Jesus, for once stop acting so immature and just eat!" he said, sounding aggravated.

I was shocked by his tone of voice. I mean, he did yell at us but never over something silly like this; it was mostly about serious things like patrol or something.

"Sorry." I mumbled while nibbling on a cookie.

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry aswell, I didn't mean to yell at you guys like that. I'm just under a lot of stress right now and I'd appreciated it if you would try to just get along for now."

"Why, what's wrong man?" Jared asked, sounding concerned. Trust Jared to be the mature one in a situation like this.

"Nothing too serious. It's just Seth and his situation with Alex, then Emily planning our wedding and Leah being upset about it. It's hard enough to deal with those three so I'd appreciated it if you tired your hardest to just get along for the time being. Understood?"

We all nodded.

"Good. Now Embry, how's Seth coping?" he asked.

"Not that good. He was talking about wanting to get hit by a bus just before I left him; the kid's gone delusional!"

"You're one to talk Embry, remember when Gab left you because your ass couldn't stay faithful."

I think Paul meant it as a joke. But I didn't think it was all that funny at all. So before I knew it, my hands had a tight death grip on Paul's throat as I held him against the wall.

"Don't ever say that again. You knew that wasn't what happened." I growled through clenched teeth.

Paul was squirming under my grip as I continued to glare at him until Sam snapped me out of it.

"Embry stop it, let him go now!" he commanded, tugging me away from Paul who let out a relieved breath and sunk to the floor.

I took a shaky breath before running outside and just barely reaching the tree line before phasing into my wolf form. I had to get some self control before i went back and apologized.

-0-

"No Embry, you're supposed to add the chocolate chips now!" Gab yelled at me, obviously frustrated.

"No Gab! You sprinkle them on once the dough is on the tray." I argued.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!

"Yes!"

Gab stopped talking and put down the wooden spoon she was holding. She turned back to me and glared.

_Shit. _I should've known she was going to give me the look if I argued with her.

"Aw come on Gab! That's not fair." I whned, grabbing her by the waist gently but she wouldn't budge; she just kept on glaring.

I glared back and we had a glaring competition. I knew it was no use; I always gave into what she wanted anyway.

Giving in, I sighed defatedly. "Fine. You win." I mumbled, pulling her to me into a hug as I dug my face into the crook of her neck.

"I know, I always do anyway." she teased and nudged me gently in the ribs.

"Whatever baby, go put in the chocolate chips now." I said, putting my arms around her waist.

"Don't pout Emb." she warned.

"I'm not!" I insisted. "Just put it in."

"Fine, you better not be though."

"I'm not. Now come on, we need those to be ready in time to bring to the bonfire."

"Yeah, yeah. They will be Embry so stop fussing."

_"_Ok, I just really want some cookies though."

"Will you ever not be hungry?"

"Probably not."

"How does Emily manage to cook so much for you guys?"

"Because she loves us and you love me too." I teased and kissed her cheek.

"Well, I can't deny that. And how's Seth coping?"

I sighed, "Not good. He's been moping all day talking about how he wish he would get hit by a bus already."

"If you're ever like that I will personally slap you in the face." she commented.

"Why!"

"Because you shouldn't harm yourself just because of me stupid."

"Aw, it's nice that you care." I joked.

A look of hurt appeared on her face but it disappeared as soon as it appeared. "I've always cared about you Embry."

She pulled away from my arms and started to fill the baking tray with the cookie dough, shielding her face away from me with her hair.

"What's wrong Gab?" I asked, worried that I had hurt her feelings or something by my joke.

"Nothing."

"Gab, I'm not stupid. I know there's something wrong and I'm not letting you leave without telling me."

"Do you really think that I don't care about you?" she asked, the worry evident in her eyes.

"No Gabby, that's not it. I was just making a joke. Please don't be worried; I know that you care about me." I assured her, giving her a smile.

She smiled back after a while and hugged me tightly. "Good, because I do."

"I know Gab, I know."

"Wait." she said, pulling back suddenly. "Did you call me Gabby?"

"Yeah, why?"

She burst out laughing after.

I looked at her confused, "What's so funny?"

"Nevermind Embry." she sighed, her laughter dying down.

"Whatever you say Gab."

-0-

"I can't believe you burnt the cookies." I said, shaking my head at her.

"Me? You're the one who forgot about them! I specifically told you _not _to forget yet what did you do?" she exclaimed.

"Whatever, but they're gonna be pissed that these are burnt." I stated.

"At least I brought something. And they're not even that burnt, they're still edible." she responded, shrugging her shoulders and leaning her head against my shoulder.

"Well hopefully these will be good enough for Paul as an apology gift." I mumbled quietly, hoping that Gabriella wouldn't hear me. Unfortunately she did.

"Apology gift? What did you do Emb?" she sighed.

"Nothing. We just had a little disagreement." I answered.

"Embry, it's not little. Just tell me please." she pleaded.

I didn't dare look at her eyes because I knew that if I did I would cave in and tell her what we were arguing about. I shook my head and kept my gaze straight ahead on the road.

"Fine, be like that. I'll find out one way or another anyway." she commented.

"Ok, just try not to fall asleep during the stories though." I teased, remembering that the first time I brought her to a bonfire she fell asleep.

"Hey, it was your fault! You made me feel sleepy." she protested.

I laughed, "How did I make you sleepy?"

"You just did! So you can't make me feel sleepy again or else Billy might think I don't like the legends or I'm being disrespectful."

"Aren't you?" I joked.

She elbowed me in the shoulder which probably hurt her more than she hurt me, "Like I said, it's your fault!"

"Whatever floats your boat Gab."

She nodded at me and rolled her eyes. I chuckled and pulled her closer to me as we arrived at the beach parking lot and I parked the car before hopping out to get Gabriella's door open for her.

She raised an eyebrow at me as I took her hand and helped her out of the car. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing Emb." she answered, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me gently. I kissed her back and smiled against her lips.

"Come on, they're probably already waiting for us there. The sooner we get there the sooner Billy can start so you don't fall asleep durimg the stories."

"Like I said, it was your fault." she glared playfully before taking my hand and we headed down to the beach where we could see the huge fire blazing and everybody sitting on logs around it. This should be an eventful night.

**Ok, so can I get three reviews before my next update pretty please? :') so as always remember to hit the review button and give me some feedback! Thanks! Xx**


	38. Chapter 38: Stay

**Hey guys! Long time no see but here's the new chapter (finally). So, on the 24th of October it was Embry's birthday ;) and Happy Halloween for yesterday aswell! What did you guys dress up as? I was Mavis from hotel Transylvania :) So anyway, enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 38: Stay. **

****_Gabriella's POV_

__"What do you mean no big deal? As far as I'm concerned, this isn't just some silly little thing Embry. This is serious. Things could go wrong and you never know who'll get hurt." I yelled at him.

He sighed, looking tired. "Gab, we've got experience of killing vampires you know that and with Jasper training us how to fight newborn, it'll be easy."

"You just don't get it do you?" I replied.

"You don't need to worry about me. Gab, look at me." he said, putting both his warm hands on my face, forcing me to look at him. "I know you're worried. But I can handle myself."

I pushed his hands away from my face, turning my back on him. Didn't he get that it wasn't easy not to worry? How could you expect someone to take it easy when you tell them that they're going to war with a bunch of vampires. I hadn't completely wrapped my mind around the whole werewolves killing vampires thing yet and now this?

"Embry... just please don't go. Just stay here with me." I pleaded, looking at him and taking his hands in mine.

"Gab, you know I can't do that. My pack needs me, I can't abandon them."

"Who's it going to be, me or the pack?" I asked.

"Gab..." he started, looking pained. "Don't make me choose."

In a way I was hurt. I mean, I knew he wasn't going to abandon the pack but deep down I wished he would somehow stay; stay so he wouldn't get hurt just as I feared. I was being selfish, that I knew but was it wrong for me to be worried about those I loved?

"I think it's best if you just go." I responded, pushing his arms that were wrapped around me away. I didn't look at his reaction to what I said; I couldn't. If I did I knew the tears that were forming in my eyes would spill.

"Gab, please. Baby, please understand me." he begged, reaching for me again but i refused to let him touch me. I knew I was hurting him but I just couldn't handle touching him right now. I needed some time.

"Just go. I need time." I said silently.

I heard him move to the window and I knew the moment that he had gone because the feeling of emptiness and heartache set in. I sighed and sat on my bed. I pulled back the covers and got settled into bed. It was far too early to be going to bed but I just wanted this day to be over already. Things had went from bad to worse in a short span of time.

First there was the fact that Andrew had fell out of a tree he was climbing so mom and dad were with him at the hospital. The doctor had wanted to keep him overnight because he had taken a pretty bad fall and they were running x-rays on him to check if his spine was bruised when he had hit it on that rock that was beneath the tree.

Then, mom had left me in charge of everyone else while her and dad stayed at the hospital. Now, mostly teenagers would be ecstatic that their parents weren't home but if you've got 6 people to take care of and they're yelling stuff at you every 10 seconds, call it personal hell.

And now, Embry just came to tell me that he and the pack was going to fight alongside the cullens against a newborn army?

I shook my head to try and clear it my mind which was going round in circles. I went to sleep feeling empty, cold and alone without Embry's warm arms wrapped around me in bed.

-0-

"Gab, I think you should call Embry. Jared told me he's getting a bit cranky and the pack can't handle him and Seth who's still moping over Alex." Kim informed me.

"It seems to be a Russo trait." Rachel snickered.

They had knocked on my front door early this morning and dragged me to the diner in Forks to have 'a lovely breakfast with your dearest friends' as Rachel put it. More like telling me off for what I did to Embry last night. Jeez, news travelled fast around here.

"I don't want to talk to him; not yet anway." I answered, taking a small bite of the pancake that was on my plate. I wasn't really hungry this morning.

Rachel sighed exasperately. "This isn't going to go anywhere Kim; both of them are stubborn asses."

"Gab, please just talk to him. If he's down, so is the whole pack and that isn't going to do them any good during the fight." Kim said. I sighed and looked out the window. "Look, it's not easy for me aswell. I'm worried thinking about all the possibilities of him getting hurt, but we need to believe in them; believe that they can get throught this without any trouble. Just have faith."

"Wow Kim, didn't know you could be so inspirational." Rachel teased.

"I have my moments." Kim shrugged, flipping her long, balck hair over her shoulder.

I kept silent, lost in my own thoughts. Kim was right; I had forgotten about the other imprints. I wondered if they felt the same way as me; the same protectiveness and anxiousness.

I knew what I had to do. "Do you know where Embry is?"

Kim grinned brightly at me. "He's at his house. Sam kept him off patrol today because of his moping from last night."

"Can you guys drop me off there?"

"Yeah, let's go." Rachel said.

We dropped cash on the table and walked out, heading to Rachel's car. We were all silent as Rachel drove the car back to La Push. Ever so often, Kim would hum a tune but that was it. What was I going to say to Embry?

When Rachel pulled up outside his house, I gulped. Would he be mad at me for making him choose between the pack and I? I guess I was just going to have to take what he would say to me if he was angry.

"You'll be fine." Kim assured me. I gave her a curt nod then walked to the front door. I stopped once I reached the front door. I hesitantly knocked and waited for someone to open the door. It opened a few seconds later by a girl that I wasn't familiar with. My heart started to pound; please tell me she was his cousin or something.

"Ella, who is it?" I heard Embry's familiar voice call from upstairs.

Ella wrinkled her nose at me. "I don't know, come down here." I tried to calm my heart rate down. Surely Embry wouldn't do this. No, he said he woudln't do it again. Okay Gabriella take a deep breath.

Embry appeared a few seconds later. He looked annoyed but as soon as he saw it was me standing on the other side, his lips grinned widely and he wrapped his arms around me before spinning me around and planting kisses all over my face.

"Gab! Gab, you came." he whispered to me, sounding relieved.

He finally put me down and I smiled at him. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I'm just glad that you're here." he replied, smiling brightly at me then once again placing kisses all over my face.

Ella cleared her throat and we both turned to look at her. "Um Embry, I'll just be going now. I'll come back if you need me." she told Embry while stroking his arm and winking at him.

I was about to step in and say something but Embry beat me to it.

"Thanks... but no thanks. I'm good as long as Gab's with me." he replied, giving me a reassuring kiss on the forehead which caused Ella to glare at me. I smiled at Embry and turned to look at Ella.

"If you don't mind, me and Embry have some things to discuss." I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep myself from saying things I'd regret later on.

If looks could kill, I'd pretty sure I'd be dead by now. "I guess I'll see you around Embry." and with that she stalked off, not even acknowledging me. Like I cared though.

We were silent for a while, me and Embry, just looking at each other. His face was a mix of emotions and I really just wanted to get this talk done and over with; I really didn't like fighting with him.

"Let's head inside; we've got things to discuss."

-0-

"Ok, first things first. Who is Ella and what was she doing here with you all alone." I questioned him with a raised eyebrow. Embry burst out as soon as he heard my question. "I don't get what's so amusing about my question Embry." I huffed, lightly punching his arm.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you're cute when you're jealous." he replied, nuzzling his nose into my neck and I jokingly shoved him off me. "And don't even deny that you are."

"Wasn't going to." I informed him, sticking my tongue out.

"Real mature."

"Whatever. Now answer my question."

"Ok, ok. Pushy." he grumbled. "Well first of all, Ella is one of my ex girlfriends."

"You mean one of many." I butted in teasingly but Embry's cheeks turned red.

"Yeah." he said quietly.

"Em, I was just joking."

"Yeah, I know... Anyway, second of all she appeared on my front door this morning right after my mom left for work. We didn't do anything."

"Ok, good or else I'd have to kick your ass." i threatened.

"I know, I know. Now time for breakfast, what do you want?"

"Actually, Rachel and Kim dragged me to the diner in forks earlier to eat breakfast. They were the ones who dropped me off here."

He raised an eyebrow, "Why did they take you to the diner in forks?"

"Because they were trying to get me to talk to you because apparently you were a mess and the pack couldn't handle you and Seth both moping."

"Hey! Seth's worse than me." he dsaid defensively.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever. So how's he doing?"

He shrugged carelessly, "Coping I guess. Have you heard from Alex?"

"Not in a week. I was on the phone to Stevie last night and she said that Alex wasn't really her usual self ever since she came back from La Push. Guess Seth's not the only one moping."

"Yeah, I guess not." he agreed before warpping his arms around my waist and kissing me.

I kissed him back, somehow trying to show him how sorry i was and how much I did love him. His lips were soft and they fit in mine perfectly. I pulled back from it to catch breath and he touched his forehead to mine.

"I-." he began before my phone started to ring.

I groaned. Way to ruin a moment.

I saw it was Jacob and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Gab, where are you right now?" he asked, sounding frantic.

"I'm with Embry why?"

Embry mouthed 'What's wrong?' to me and i just shrugged.

I heard Jacob letting out a relieved sigh on the other end. "That's ok. Give the phone to Embry, I need to talk to him."

I gave the phone to Embry who took it quickly. "Jake, what's wrong?" he asked.

His frown grew even bigger and I started to get worried. His grip on my waist tightened. "Did you guys catch him? I swear if he comes near Gab again... Yeah, Ok. Ok, thanks. Yeah, I'll keep an eye out for her, bye."

He hung up the phone and handed it to me.

"Emb, what's wrong? Who's he?" I questioned, gripping his arm worriedly.

"Nothing, Gab. Just come with me, I need to check all the windows and doors are locked securely."

"Embry no." I said, pulling away from his arms. "Tell me what's wrong. If it's got something to do with me then I have a right to know."

He sighed. "Gab please, I'll tell you just let me check all the windows and doors first."

"Fine. But I'm just gonna stay in the living room."

"Gab..."

"Emb, just go. I'll be fine here for a few seconds." he still looked reluctant to go. "Emb, I'll just be here."

"Ok." he replied quickly, rushing up the stairs. I rolled my eyes at him.

I sat down on the soft cushions lying on the sofa and sat in silence. What could the problem be now? I looked at the clock and saw that it was already half one in the afternoon. I had to get back soon; I had left Danny in charge when I left in a hurry this morning and god knows what was happening right now.

Embry appeared soon at the doorway staring at me. "You ok?"

"Yeah. Emb, I have to get back soon. My parents are still at the hospital with Andrew and the rest are at home with Danny in charge."

"Gab, I have to tell you something important first."

"Ok, but can you drive me?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way." he moved to sit next to me on the couch. "Gab... Jacob... he said that he saw Ethan in the woods earlier."

My heart stopped. Was he being true to his word? That day in Port Angeles when he said he would finally get me alone?

"Emb.."

"Shh, baby it's ok. I won't let him touch you." he assuered me.

"You don't understand Embry." I stood up, pacing around the room.

"Understand what? Gab, what aren't you telling me?"

"Emb... Remember that time me, Alex, Josh and Justin went to Port Angeles?" he nodded. "Well... Ethan kind of showed up and threatened me."

His eyes went large with fear, "What? Why are you only telling me this now?"

"Because, he threatened me."

Embry moved from the sofa to wrapping his strong, warm arms around me in a swift movement.

"It's ok baby, shh, shh." he comforted. I wrapped my arms around him in return. We stood there in the corner of the room, with our arms wrapped around each other. I could stay in his arms all day but I needed to get back to reality. We both sighed when I broke contact.

"Let's go."

-0-

*_day of the fight*_

__I paced around nervously in my room. I had convinced my parents and siblings to go to Seattle for the weekend as Sam had suggested while the fight was going on. So it was just me and Rachel in my bedroom all alone.

"Gab! Stop it with your pacing already, you're driving me crazy!" she complained, continuing to flip over her magazine.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about them. What is something goes wrong?" I said, worry in my tone.

Rachel sighed. "I'm worried about that too Gab. But we have to have faith in the guys. They've been training; now all we can do is hope that they do ok."

Suddenly we both heard a creak followed by a bang downstairs.

Rachel sat up, "What was that?"

"I don't know. Stay here, I'll go check what it is." I said, turning the doorknob.

"Are you crazy? In the movies this is where the stupid girl goes down to check the noise and the killer gets her!" she said, freaking out.

"Would you be quiet!" I snapped. "I'll have more of a chance of dying because of you being too noisy. And that's the difference; that's in the movies and this is real life."

"Fine, but I'm coming down with you."

"Ok, but no squealing." I instructed.

She imitated a zip going over her mouth and I rolled my eyes at her.

We crept down the stairs, well tried to since there's always that _one_ creaky stair, with Rachel holding the magazine as 'defense' as she put it and me carrying a hairbrush.

"Ok, you go check in the kitchen and I'll stay here." Rachel said once we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Wow Rachel, you're unbelievably brave."

"I know right? Now go."

I rolled my eyes but headed to the kitchen. I sighed in relief when I saw that it was just that the backdoor was wide open and the wind was making it creak. I was suspicious though, I remembered closing it and locking it earlier when Embry left.

"Rachel, did you open the backdoor and leave it open?" I yelled to her.

"I didn't!" was her reply.

I closed the door and made sure it was locked. I stared into the transparent glass, knowing that somewhere out there Embry was risking his life fighting vampires. But then... I saw his reflection.

"Miss me?"

"Ethan..." I said, just as I let go of the hairbrush and it made a clinking noise on the cold kitchen floor.

**Cliffhanger ;D so as always, Remember to review and thanks! Xx**


	39. Chapter 39: Help

**Hey! Long time no see huh? Well, some important news, I made a tumblr! There, you can see who plays who like who plays Gabriella, etc. If you're interested, go onto .com. Anyways, enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 39:**

_Embry's POV_

I watched the newborn leech wraps its arms around Jake's neck and it was soon followed by the noise of bones breaking. I immediately knew that it was Jake. I was about to run over and help but Sam and Paul got there first and ripped the leech apart. The rest pf the pack ran to the shed of the trees and quickly phased back into our human forms.

We all ran like speed to Jake's limp body on the ground; he was whimpering from the pain.

"You idiot Jacob, I had it!" Leah yelled at him.

"Leah." Sam growled, hushing her and leaning down to inspect Jacob's body.

Doctor Cullen appeared and also bent down check on Jacob.

"The whole right side of his body is broken. He'll be fine but I might have to rebreak some bones later. Bring him back to Billy's house and I'll follow as soon as our business is done here."

Sam nodded in agreement and we all crowded round Jacob's body to lift him back to his place. He made whimpering noises as we lifted him from the ground even though we tried our best to be careful. We walked the journey home at a slow pace since we couldn't go fast for fear of Jake's safety.

At one point in our journey, Quil didn't see a twig on the ground and tripped, almost causing the rest of us to lose control and drop Jacob. Thankfully, we all regained and balance and so did Quil.

"Be careful Quil." Sam ordered.

"Sorry." he mumbled in response.

We continued walking throught the forest until the familiar red house came into sight. I heard a noise from the inside pf the house, meaning that Billy was probably back from his fishing trip with Charlie. He must've seen us approaching through the window because he suddenly was rolling himself down the ramp and towards us.

"What happened? Is Jacob alright?" he asked frantically, looking panicked.

"Yeah, doc said he'd be fine. He's coming over later to check up on Jacob and see if he needs to rebreak some bones." Sam answered.

Billy moved closer to Jacob. "How you feeling son?"

"Painful." Jacob managed to get out through gritted teeth.

"Bring him inside, I'll get the bed ready." Bily instructed.

Jared let go of Jacob only to grab hold of Billy's wheelchair to wheel him inside. He got there a lot quicker than us and held the door open when we arrvied. Jacob's bed was ready for him to lay down on and Billy was right next to the bed. We gently put him down and Billy arrnaged some pillows around him to make him feel comfortable.

We left Billy and Sam with Jacob inside the room and everybody piled into the living room.

"Embry, call Emily to come here with Kim. Paul, call Rachel to come here with Gab." Me and paul nodded and called.

The phone dialed for a while before it was picked up by a very anxious sounding Emily.

"Hello?"

"Hey Em, it's Embry. Listen... I'm going to need you and Kim to come over to Billy's house."

"What? Why, what happened?"

"Uh, Jacob was just-" I was starting to say when I suddenly heard Paul scream what.

I turned around to face him; he had visibly paled.

"Paul, what?"

"Embry... it's Gabriella...she, she was kidnapped." he whispered out.

My heart stopped in my chest. My eyes widened in horror. No. No this can't be happenning. Not right now.

"Give me the phone, now." I ordered Paul. He quickly handed me the phone as I handed him the phone to talk to Emily.

"Rachel, what happened?" I asked pained.

If only I'd listened. If only I'd stayed woth Gab then maybe this wouldn't be happening.

"I don't know exactly." she said, sounding scared over the phone.

"What do you mean you don't know? You were the one with her." I growled through the phone.

"Don't yell at her; it's not her fault." Paul yelled at me.

I glared at him. I looked over at Jared. "Tell Sam I went to Gab's house." I said before running out the house and phasing to run to Gabriella's house.

-0-

"What do you mean you only heard her scream? Did you not go with her to look?" I asked Rachel, my anger rising with every second.

"No, I was too scared to go so I just stayed there while Gab went on further to the kitchen. But..." she trailed off.

"But what?" I asked curious.

"I remember she asked me if I had left the kitchen door open. I said no." she responded.

"Then why was the door open? When I left you guys there I remember closing the door and telling Gab to lock it."

"I really don't know Embry. I'm sorry." she replied.

I rest my head on the door and sighed heavily. "What are we gonna tell her parents and siblings when they get home tomorrow? They're gonna kill me if I tell them seh was kidnapped. Her dad already hates me."

Paul put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "We'll find her Emb. And I know Gabriella won't give up without a fight. That's not like her. But as her imprinter you need to focus on finding her; it's our job to protect our imprintees."

I glanced at him and sighed. "Yeah, thanks for the pep talk Paul. I guess I needed it."

He just gave me a curt nod and wrapped his arms somewhat protectively around Rachel. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sam step out of the woods followed by Seth.

"Embry, have you found a scent?"

"Yeah, it's a leech." I spat out.

Sam sniffed the air as did Seth.

"It smells familiar." Seth replied.

I took another whiff of the scent and thought back to previous scents I had smelled before but came up with nothing.

"It's familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it."

Suddenly Seth and Paul growled at the same time.

"What?" I asked.

"It's the same scent from the a few nights ago." Paul growled out.

I thought back to what he was thinking about and then it hit me.

"Ethan." I whispered dangerously low, my fury reaching the highest point and before I knew it, I was standing in front of Sam, Seth, Paul and Rachel in my wolf form.

"Embry, go look for Gabriella. I'll send Seth and Quil with you to go and look." Sam instructed. "The rest of us will stay here and make sure no other vampires cross our border."

I simply nodded at Seth who nodded back and phased into his wolf form.

_"Let's go." I thought to Seth._

_"Agreed." _

__-0-

_Gabriella's POV_

I opened my eyes only to find that I didn't know where I was. I adjusted my eyes to my surroundings and tried to sit up properly but I was suddenly pulled back down. I looked behind my back to find that my hands were tied to a pole. I took a closer look to where i was and found that it was an abandoned warehouse of some sort.

"Hello?" I croaked out weakly, my voice sounding a bit hoarse considering it was a bit dry.

I saw a quick shadow move quickly. I swallowed thickly and looked around nervously. I made an attempt to untie my hands but soon an ice cold hand touched mine which made me gasp.

I turned to my right and was met with a pair of blood red eyes which were dangerously close to my face. I pulled back and immediately felt sharp pain in my hands.

"Told you I'd get you one day." Ethan whispered to me, a smirk playing on his face.

"Embry will find me." I replied bitterly.

He laughed. "Aw, but your Embry is going to have a hard time looking for you. We aren't exactly in La Push or Forks right now."

"Where are we?" I asked, getting angrier by the minute.

"Now why would I tell you that and ruin the game? It won't be anymore fun if you know." he said, standing up.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" I gritted out through my clenched teeth, struggling against the rope.

"Stop trying to break free Gab; it's no use. And even if you do get untied you can't run anywhere where I can't catch you."

I gave up and sighed. "What do you want from me anyway?"

"Oh, Gab. I want a lot of things."

"Like what?"

"Well for starters, I want Embry to suffer. I want him to feel the pain I felt when I was lost, wandering the forest for countless days until I was found by a vampire and turned." He answered, bitterness in his voice.

"That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tried to rape me." I yelled at him.

He glared at me. "And what makes you think that I won't try now that I've got you here all alone. Huh?"

I cowered back in fear and looked down at the ground. "Please don't."

"I'll be back. I need to go get you some food." He said quietly before disappearing out of sight.

I was finally alone but it was getting dark outside and I was shivering because I was only wearing a pair of denim shorts and a thin shirt. I wish Embry would find me soon. I didn't want to be here any longer and I was worried about what Ethan was going to do to me.

-0-

"Eat up, Gab." Ethan said softly, pushing the plate of food towards me.

I stared at the plate of food and sighed. Might as well try to get some energy. "I can't eat with my hands tied behind my back."

"Oh yeah." He reached behind me and unfastened the rope on my wrists. I pulled them to me and went round in circles. They had been aching from being tied down for most of the day.

I grabbed the plate of food and took the fork. I stabbed the chicken and twirled some noodles around the fork. I ate the chicken and noodles in silence while he stared at me.

"I don't get it Gab."

I looked up at him, "Get what?"

"You and Embry. He always looks at you like you're the sun or something, it's weird."

I smiled at the thought of Embry. "Yeah, he's... special like that."

"Special." he said before shaking his head and snorting.

"You know, Leah likes you." I said, remembering that Leah had imprinted on Ethan. Now that I thought of it, I hadn't seen her that often ever since Ethan disappeared.

"Leah? I don't remember her." he said, looking confused.

"She was the girl on first beach. Remember that time you threw me in the water and Embry got pissed?"

"Oh yeah, that did it for him." he said chuckling at the memory. "But Leah? It doesn't ring a bell."

"Oh." I responded, continuing on with my meal.

-0-

_"Embry! Embry, where are you?" I yelled, running through the forest in panic. "Embry! Please help me!" _

_I suddenly fell to the ground and tried to get up but I winced in pain. I look down at my knee and saw that my right knee was split open and blood was gushing out. I ripped out a part of the shirt I was wearing and wrapped it around my knee. _

_Once it was secure, I stood up slowly and tried to run again but it was too painful. I limped as I started to walk through the forest again. _

_"Gabriella! Where are you? I'm coming for you." came the voice. _

_My eyes widened in fear as I the voice and started to limp faster. I turned my head to see what was behind me and saw nothing. I turned my head back to watch where I was going but ran straight into something hard. I collapsed onto the ground and looked up. _

_"I don't like playing hide and seek Gab." he whispered dangerously low. _

_I started to crawl backwards, whimpering in pain and fear. He put his nose up to the air and started to sniff it. He once again looked at me and I saw that his eyes had turned pitch black. The sign that he was hungry. _

_He started to stalk closer and closer to me as I kept crawling back. My knee had started to bleed again and I knew that he was after my blood. I kept going back until my back hit a tree. I was stuck. _

_"Nowhere to run to now." He said, smirking at me. He knelt down and held my knee in his ice cold hand. "Where's your wolf? I thought he was your protector?" _

_He unwrapped my knee from the cloth and the blood started to slowly drip down my leg and into his hand. He lowered his head to my knee and I closed my eyes to try to block out the pain of his teeth sinking in. But it never came. _

_I opened my eyes to find that there was a wolf on top of the vampire, tearing him to pieces angrily. The wolf was grey in colour, with black patches running across his back. _

_"Embry." I whispered before my vision turned pitch black. _

**Happy Early Christmas guys! hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and be happy! Thanks and remember to review guys! ;)**


	40. Chapter 40: Hard Life

**Woah, long time no see guys! Sorry, between holidays, exams, getting sick and school, I've just had no time whatsoever. Anyway, hopefully I'll start getting more free time so I can write more. Anyways, enjoy! :D **

**Chapter 40: Hard Life**

_Leah's POV _

__Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

The sound of the clock was the only thing I could hear clearly right now. Jacob was injured because of that stinking leech lover and now there was something up with Gabriella. Embry and Paul had ran out as soon as the call ended and we hadn't heard from them since they left half an hour ago.

What was going on?

Suddenly a loud and painful sounding howl rang through the night air.

I stood up immediately. Jared and Kim were staring at me. I scoffed. Wow, they actually took a break from chewing each others faces off.

"I'm going to see what's up." I said and ran out the door. I jogged to the tree line and hid behind a tree to take my clothes off. If I ripped up another outfit, mom was sure to kill me. And I was a wolf mind you.

I wrapped up the shirt and shorts around my ankle quickly before phasing. As soon as I phased, my legs collapsed and I hit the ground. I howled in pain.

My head was throbbing and my legs felt weak. I whimpered lowly.

_"What's happening?" I asked. _

_"Someone took Gab." Seth answered. _

_"Ethan." Embry gritted out through his teeth. He looked furious. _

_I lay there on my paws in shock. Ethan. The last time I saw him, we were chasing him through the forest. He had jumped across the treaty line though, safely making it across onto Cullen land. I was relieved by that fact and the pack resented me for it. Especially Embry. But unlike the others, he kept quiet about it. _

_"I need to look for her." Embry announced suddenly and he was about to start running but a pitch black wolf stood in his way. _

_"And where are you going to start Embry? We need to find a lead so we can start." Sam argued. _

_Embry scoffed at him. "So what do you expect me to do huh? Just sit here and wait until you guys find something while that fucker could be hurting Gabriella for all I know? What would you do if it was Emily, Sam? Could you stay calm?" _

_Sam was silent. We knew he couldn't argue with that; none of the people that had imprinted could. What was I supposed to do with my imprint? He was too far gone and I didn't know what to do with him? Was I supposed to try and be friends with him or pursue a romantic relationship with him? Or was I destined to just see him from afar and observe what he was doing like I was some freaking stalker?_

_"Embry, go. Take Seth and Quil with you." Sam ordered. _

_Embry looked as if a big burden had just been lifted off his shoulders. _

_"Thanks Sam." he said._

_"We'll keep you guys updated on what's happening around here." Sam said. _

_Embry nodded before speeding off, Seth and Quil on his tail. _

_Me and Sam were the only ones left behind. We stared at each other. _

_"You decide what you should do about your imprint Leah." Sam said before running off. _

_He made me even more confused. What was I going to do with my imprint?_

_Embry's POV_

_"Can we stop for a while? I'm hungry." Quil asked. _

_"Yeah Emb, we've been running for two days straight, we should stop to get some food." Seth added._

_"Yeah man, you need to keep up your energy aswell if you're gonna keep looking for Gab." Quil said._

_I sighed. I knew they were right but I didn't want to miss even just a few minutes to look for Gab. But I did need energy if I was going to look for Gab. _

_"Yeah, you do." Seth said. _

_"Come on, let's look for a place that's cheap to eat at." I told them, running ahead. _

_"Um Embry, we've kind of got a problem." Quil stopped me. _

_I turned back to face him. "What is it?" _

_"We ran to Seattle in wolf form meaning the only clothes we have our cutoffs; no shoes or shirts." _

_I groaned. "Then we'll just have to hunt in our wolf forms for live animals then." _

_Seth mentaly gagged as did Quil. None of us liked to eat raw meat and avoided it in all means possible. However, judging by our situation we would have no choice. We were trying to lay low and I'm pretty sure we would be standing out rather than blending in if we went someplace barefoot in just a pair of ripped cutoffs._

_"Ok, split up guys, tell each other if you find something." _

_They both nodded and went in different directions. _

_I was just about to start sniffing the ground when Seth called me and Quil in urgency. _

_"What is it Seth? Did you find something?" Quil asked in exasperation._

_You could tell he was hungry. _

_"Damn right I am! I haven't ate in two days!" He answered. _

_"Whatever Quil, what did you find Seth?" _

_"I found a familiar vampire scent." He answered. My heart stopped. _

_I ran over to where he was. I sniffed the ground where Seth had pointed to. I smelt it. His scent. _

_I sniffed it again and there it was. _

_"What is it Embry?" Seth asked. _

_"Gabriella. Her scent's here." I whispered. _

_Suddenly, we heard a loud pitched scream. i looked up. I recognized that voice. _

_I ran as fast as I could towards the screams with Seth and Quil behind me. We arrived outside a warehouse. It looked like nobody had been here for years. _

_"Guys be careful, he might not be alone." I warned. _

_We walked slowly to the door of the warehouse. _

_"Stay behind me, I'll look at what's going pn first." I instructed them._

_I edged slowly to the small opening in the door and took a peek. My eyes widened in horror at what I saw. _

_Gabriella was lying on the floor, her hands and legs tied up while tears were coming out of her eyes. Her mouth was tied so she couldn't speak. Her leg was bleeding and I could see the bastard standing over her, his eyes watching the blood trickling down her leg and onto the floor. _

_I had enough then and looked to Quil and Seth. _

_"Let's go kill that piece of shit." I gritted furiously through my clenched teeth. _

_They both nodded in agreement and we barged through the warehouse door. _

_Ethan turned to look at the three of us and there was shock evident on his face. That shock quickly turned into a smirk as he looked at Gabriella then back to us. _

__"Oh Gabriella, look who finally came to your rescue." He said, laughing. "Thought he would've left you for dead. I mean, you were only his toy right?"

_I growled at him. He was trying to get me winded up. _

I_ walked closer to him, Seth and Quil both flanking me at my sides._

_Ethan walked over to Gabriella and lifted her up. I caught Gabriella's eyes and I could see she was in a great deal of pain. I saw Ethan's hand on her leg and before I knew what he was doing, he squeezed her leg, making more blood ooze out and Gabriella screamed in pain through the rope around her mouth. _

_"Let's go. Circle around him so he can't escape but watch your back because he might try to pull tricks on us. He's also a newborn which makes him stronger and he's quick." I warned. _

_Ethan put his bloody hands to his mouth and licked one of his fingers. _

__"Mm, her blood tastes so good Embry." he said, looking me right in the eye.

_Me, Quil and Seth circled around him as he stared at all of us in the eye._

_Seth and Quil both ran at him but he dropped Gabriella to the floor and disappeared. _

_"Guys, remember that vampires are quick." _

_"Seth, go back to back with me." Quil instructed. _

_"Good idea." he responded._

_While they were watching Ethan, I ran over to Gabriella_ _and nudged her carefully with my nose. She looked at me and whimpered. My eyes softened as I looked at her. I wanted so badly to phase back and comfort her but I knew i couldn't while Ethan was still on the loose. _

_I looked up to see Ethan bumping Quil and Seth's head together and them falling to the ground, seemingly unconscious. _

_I jumped over Gabriella and ran to Ethan. He had his back turned to me so i grabbed the chance to jump on top of him. He struggle under my grip but I growled at him. there was no way he was going to survive after I was done with him. _

_I was about to rip one of his arms of but suddenly, I was flung towards a wall. My paw hit a nail that was lying on the floor and I whimpered in pain. I bit it out of my paw and turned to whoever had pushed me out of the way. _

_I gasped when I saw it was Leah. _

_"What are you doing here?" I asked her furiously. _

_"Ethan's my imprint. It's my job to protect him. No matter what he's done, I can't let you kill him." she replied, trying to make me understand. _

_I scoffed at her, "Look at Gabriella. That's what your piece of shit imprint did to her. He's a vampire Leah. You're a wolf because you were meant to kill vampires." _

_"Embry have you forgotten the number one wolf rule? No matter what what, no wolf is allowed to harm another wolf's mate." she replied back. _

_"Ha, in these terms, I'm willing to overlook that rule. Just look at what your fucking imprint has done." _

_"I know. I know he's hurt Gab. But Embry just imagine what you would feel like if someone killed Gabriella, your imprint. If you kill Ethan, that's what I would feel like." _

_I thought about what she said. Leah was right. If someone killed Gabriella it would kill me. I couldn't do that to a pack mate. No matter what their imprint did. _

_I sighed. "Get him out of here. I never want to see him again Leah or else I might really end his pathetic life." _

_She didn't say anything except nod and walk over to Ethan who was standing there looking ocnfused. _

_I phased back to human form and quickly put my shorts on._

__I ran over to Gabriella and picked her up gently. I untied her legs and hands. I untied the rope around her mouth and held her face.

"Baby, I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you." I apologized and kissed her forehead, holding her close to me.

"Emb, my leg hurts." she whispered, her voice sounding raspy.

I looked at her leg and saw that blood was still slowly oozing out.

I ripped a bit of her shirt and tied it carefully around her leg. She whimpered as the fabric wrapped around the wound.

"We need to get you to a hospital quickly or else that could get infected." I looked at her and she was slowly getting paler and paler. I picked her up and stood up.

Quil and Seth were beginning to stir and I walked over to them. I gently kicked Seth in the shoulder and he jumped up suddenly. They had also somehow phased back to their human forms while they were unconscious.

"What's wrong, wjere's Ethan. We need to go kill him." He said quickly.

"Seth, calm down. He's all take care of." I explained. "Pkease wake up Quil so you and him can go put some shorts on."

"Oh yeah." he said, realising that they were both butt naked. He started shaking Quil's shoulder.

"I need to look for a hospital somewhere here, can you and Quil go look for a cheap shop and go get us some shirts and some sandals or something? I need to get Gabriella to a hospital quickly." I explained.

"Yeah, no worries man, just get Gabriella to safety." Seth answered back.

"Hold on baby, you'll be in better hands soon." I said, looking at Gabriella.

**Okay, that's it! :) as always, remember to review and thanks for reading Xx **


	41. Chapter 41: Graduation

**Okay, so here's a short chapter for you guys :) the next chapter is the last one! :D I'm sad but happy that this story is coming to an end. Sad because I'm going to move on but happy that I get to work on the next part of this story which is Seth and Alex! :D so excited to start writing about them :) I hope you guys like that story and read it as much as you guys read The Complications of Love :) as always enjoy! xD**

**Chapter 41: Graduation**

****_Gabriella's POV_

_Congratulations Gabriella Russo you have been accepted into our university. _

I sat staring at that line for at least 5 minutes. I was torn on how to react. One part of me wanted to jump up and down and squeal with excitement while the other part was shocked and stressed about the news.

I mean, I knew I applied for college in New York but I didn't really think I'd get accepted. My grades weren't exactly the best. How was I going to tell Embry? I knew he would have a hard time if I left to go to college for 3 years.

Ugh. Why couldn't i have been accepted to the University of Washington instead?

Ok Gabriella, you can't focus on this right now, it's graduation day. Ok relax, maybe Embry will take it well. Oh who am I kidding?

"Gabriella! Hurry up or you'll be late for your graduation!" mom yelled up the stairs.

I sighed. I'd have to think about this later.

"Coming!" I yelled back, grabbing my purse and heading downstairs.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, my parents were standing there looking proudly at me.

"Uh are we going now?" I asked, eyeing them both.

My mom looked as if she had just snapped out of a daze. "Oh yes! Sorry, I just can't believe my baby's graduating!" she said, hugging me tightly.

"Gee, thanks for having faith in me mom." I replied hugging her back.

"No I didn't mean it that way, I just... Nevermind, we have to go now." she said, ushering everyone out of the house and into the car.

-0-

"Embry!" I yelled at him, running into his open arms.

He was leaning against one of the lockers, looking like he was daydreaming. Hearing his name, he looed in my direction and his face broke out into a smile.

He caught me and twirled me around. "Hey baby."

He pulled back and looked at me. "You nervous about graduation?"

"Ha no, I can't wait to get out of high school." I replied.

"It wasn't that bad, college is going to be harder you do realize that right?" he joked.

"What? What did you hear? I'm not going to New York!" I blurted out suddenly.

He riased an eyebrow at me. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Come on let's go, they're about to start." I said, trying to change the subject.

I grabbed Embry's hand and we ran through the long corridor to the hall. There was a teacher standing by the door to the hall and when he saw us running towards him, he stood up firmly and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're late, the validictorian has already finished their speech and the principal has already started his speech." he said, glaring at us.

"Sorry sir." Embry said.

"Hurry up and get in line." he said, opening the door and ushering us quickly inside.

Our head of year quickly told us our positions in line. Embry was near the front because is last name started with a C while I was near the back because my last name started with a R. Danny was also behind me since he was graduating aswell.

Standing in front of me was Emma Rogers. I hand't exactly talked to her that much but she was nice I guess and was the smartest person in our whole year. Ugh, overachievers.

I stood in line for quite a while waiting to go up on stage.I could've talked to Danny but I wasn't in the mood to talk. Why did my last name have to start with a R? Finally, I heard my name being called by the principal. Knowing my luck, I'd probably trip on stage or something.

I walked up the stairs and onto the stage. The principal handed me my diploma and shook my hand saying a quick 'congratulations'. As I walked away from the principal, I raised my hand holding the diploma and I heard my family including the pack cheer for me. I laughed walking down the stairs and headed straight for my friends.

The pack were all standing near a corner, talking and laughing.

"Hey guys." I said, wrapping my arms around Embry.

"Hey Gab, feels good to graduate huh?" Kim said, looking happy.

"Yeah, I can't wait to never see any of the teachers and students here." I responded.

"You're so mean." Quil remarked.

"It's called being honest for your information." I replied, sticking my tongue at him and he reacted by doing the same.

"To be completely honest, I'm gonna miss this place." Jared said.

"Woah, what is this? Honesty hour?" Embry asked.

"Why, keeping any secrets from us Emb?" Paul teased.

Everyone laughed and I faked one. How long could I keep this a secret from Embry before my conscience broke me down and I just blurted it out to Embry? He didn't deserve to be told that way.

I didn't notice that I was daydreaming until Embry waving his hand in front of my face snapped me out of my daze.

"Gab? You ok?" He asked, looking nervous.

I blinked. "Uh yeah, just thinking about some things."

He furrowed his eyebrows at me but didn't ask any further thankfully.

"Well guys, time to head to Emily's house, Sam just texted saying that all the food's ready." Paul informed us.

"Great, I'm starving." Jared exclaimed.

"Gab you coming along?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, just let me tell my parents that I'm going to Emily's house." I replied.

"I'll come with you." Embry said.

"No. It's ok. Just wait for me out in the parking lot ok?" I said, hugging him quickly before walking away to look for my parents.

"Uh ok." he replied, looking confused.

_Chill Gabriella, you're making it obvious there's something wrong. _

"Honey!" my mom called out.

I looked at the direction the voice was coming from and saw my family waving at me. I made my way over to them.

"Congratulations honey! I'm so proud of you!" my mom said, as she hugged me tightly.

"Thanks mom." I said, smiling at her.

"So, Emily called me saying that she was having a celebration dinner for you guys, are you going?" my dad asked.

"Yeah, and Danny you can come aswell, Emily said you're invited." I said, looking at me.

"Nah, I'm not really in the mood for going out tonight." he responded.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why not? You just graduated high school."

"Yeah well, I'd rather just stay at home."

"Ok... Uh mom, can I talk to you and dad in private for a while? I need to tell you something important." I asked.

"Sure hun. Danny, watch your siblings for a short moment." My dad instructed.

We walked a few metres away from my family.

"Ok, so what's up?" my dad asked,

"Wait... You're not pregnant are you?" my mom said, looking at me with wide eyes.

"No! Me and Embry haven't... you know." I said, blushing because this wasn't the kind of talk I wanted to have with my parents right now.

My let out a relieved sigh. "Oh thank god! If it's not that, then what do you want to tell us?"

"Well, I got a letter today... Saying that I was accepted into NYU." I said slowly.

My mom squealed with delight and started hugging me with my dad joining in. I was squished within my parents. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting.

"Guys. Please. Stop. I. Can't. Breathe."I said, panting between my words.

"Sorry honey, sorry i just got excited there." My mom said, pulling herself together and trying to calm herself down.

"Mom... How am I going to tell Embry?" I asked worried. "He's not going to take it that well."

My mom sighed. "Well, decide how to tell him gently, don't just pull it out of the blue."

"How do I put it gently? Mom, I'm so confused."

"Yeah, guys are confusing." mom agreed.

"Hey! Girls are equally confusing!" My dad defended.

My mom rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever. Anyway honey, you just think about how to put it gently. Now go meet Embry outside, the poor boy's been waiting at least 15 minutes for you."

"Yeah ok. I'll be back by eleven tonight." I said, hugging them both quickly before running out to the parking lot.

I saw Embry leaning against his truck, arms folded looking around impatiently.

"Emb!" I yelled at him, running to him.

"About time you got here, I thought you ditched me." he responded, hugging me tightly and kissing me.

"Why would I ever ditch you baby?" I said, kissing him back.

We stood there in the parking lot, Embry leaning against his truck, holding me in his arms just kissing for a while.

We finally broke the kiss, both panting for air. We touched foreheads and just stayed in that position for a while.

"I love you." he said, looking me in the eyes.

"I love you too." I replied.

"Let's head over to Emily's they're all probably waiting for us." he said.

**Okay, that's it! :D stay tuned to the last chapter and as always, thank you reading and remember to review! Xx**


	42. Chapter 42: Goodbyes

**OMG IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER GUYS! I can't express how grateful I am that people actually read my story and reviewed it. Thank you so much to everybody! I love y'all! But don't worry, you'll see more Embry and Gabriella in Alex and Seth's story! ;) as always enjoy! **

**Chapter 42: Goodbyes. **

****_Gabriella's POV_

__Embry halted the car behind Jared's car. There were four cars parked outside Emily's house because of the pack. I stepped outside of the car, meeting Embry who was standing there looking at me with a soft smile on his face.

He took my hand and we made our way to the house. From outside I could hear everyone talking and laughing. I was going to miss this when I went away to New York. At least I would know people here because of Alex.

We entered through the front door and everyone cheered. I looked at them puzzled.

"Why are you guys cheering for us?" I asked, confused.

"Because you're finally here meaning we can finally eat. Emily made us wait for you guys to arrive before we could all eat." Jared explained.

"Damn, you guys sure took your time to get here. What'd you do? Jump each other out in the parking lot?" Paul snorted.

"No, I was just talking to my parents about something." I replied.

"What something?" Embry asked, looking curiously at me.

"Nothing, I'll tell you later ok?" I said. He looked at me cautiously for a second before nodding his head in approval.

"Ok. so Emily how about that graduation dinner?" I asked her.

She laughed, "Ok, Paul, Seth and Embry come help me put all the food onto the table." Emily instructed.

"I'll be back in a minute babe." Embry said, kissingmy forehead before following Emily, Jared and Pauk into the kitchen.

"Gab, here's yours and Embry's seat." Rachel announced, calling me.

"Ok thanks." I responded.

"So Gab, what's that something you were talking to your parents about?" Jacob asked.

"Oh nothing, it's not that important." I said, shrugging my shoulders to try and assure them it wasn't a big deal. _But it is. _

"If it's not important, why can't you tell us?" Quil asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Because it's none of your business." I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Oh right then." he said.

_I hated this. I hated lying to my close friends but I couldn't tell them. Not now. This was supposed to be a happy night and I wouldn't let this ruin it. _

The boys and Emily soon returned, holding plates and bowls filled with food.

"Woah, you've really outdone yourselves Emily." I exclaimed, staring at all the food that was being laid out on the table.

"Oh this is nothing. I'm just so happy that you guys have graduated." she responded, giving me a hug.

"You spoil them guys. What will happen whenever they have a family and have to cook by their own?" I teased.

"I bet you Paul would be buying those frozen dinners from the grocery store." Quil said, making everyone laugh.

"Hey, Rachel can cook for me right?" Paul said, looking at Rachel.

Rachel scoffed at him. "I'm not the only one who's going to cook, you better start to learn."

"Hey Emily, where's Sam?" I asked, realising that he was the only one missing from here.

"Oh, he's away to quickly buy some soda. In my rush to have all this food prepared for tonight I forgot to buy drinks." she explained.

Embry came and sat beside me. He tugged at my hand and I looked over at him. As soon as I did, he planted a soft kiss on my lips making me smile at him.

"Guys, no PDA at the table." Emily reprimanded.

"Sorry." Embry apologised, throwing a wink at me.

"Mhm." Emily replied.

-0-

Sam had arrived with the drinks soon after and we all dug into the food. Emily really did outdo herself, the food was delicious!

"So Kim, Jared told us you were going to University. Which one did you choose?" Emily asked over dinner.

I choked on the pice of chicken I was currently chewing on. Embry started patting my back and handed me a glass of water. I chugged the water down my throat and started coughing.

"Are you ok?" Embry asked.

"Yeah." I managed to say.

"That's what you get if you eat to much chicken." Rachel teased.

"Sorry guys. Kim, your answer?" I said. _Damn please don't ask me. _

"Oh yeah, um I chose the University of Washington. It's not close to the reservation but at least it's only a five hour drive." Kim answered. "Thank god it's not somewhere like New York or something."

_Oh shit._

"What about you Gab?" Kim asked and everyone's eyes turned to look at me.

I gulped. "Um, you know I still need to... you know... yeah. Embry I need to talk to you now." I said grabbing his hand and yanking him out the door.

I let go of his hand and told him to follow me through the forest. He nodded and walked behind me. I didn't even know where I was going but then I had a good idea. I stopped.

"Embry, do you know the area you took me to during Christmas and gave me this locket," I said, hodling the small heart between my fingers, "can you take us there please?"

"Yeah sure. But Gab what's wrong? You've looked so tense all day." he said looking worried.

"I'll tell you once we're there." I replied. He simply nodded and took my hand as we began to walk through the forest again.

We soon reached a clearing, the same one we went to during Christmas.

I hugged Embry and faced him.

"What's bothering you baby? Please tell me."

Instead of replying, I kissed him.

He pulled away. "Baby, please just-"

"Just shut up and kiss me." I said, pulling his face back down to me so I could kiss him.

We kissed for god knows how long and in that moment, I almost forgot about my problem. Almost. But then I was cruelly taken back to reality by Embry who pulled away.

"Gabriella, seriously. Tell me."

I sighed and took a deep breath. Guess it was now or never.

"Embry... I'm moving to New York."

He didn't say anything. He just stared at me with an expressionless face.

"You're kidding right?" he said, laughing but I could tell it was forced.

I pulled away. "No Embry, I'm not. I got accepted into NYU and I'm moving in two months." I said with my back turned to him.

I don't think I could look at his face twisted with pain as I told him that.

"I... I thought you applied to go to the University of Washington with Kim?" he said, swallowing thickly.

"I did apply. But I wasn't accepted. I was only accepted in NYU." I said, turning to look at him.

"How long is your course?" he asked, clenching his eyes shut.

"Three years." I whispered.

He opened his eyes and I regretted looking into them. I could only see pain which made me flinch a little.

"That's a long time." he replied, walking over to me and taking me into his arms.

" I know." I said, putting my head on his chest.

He pulled away and looked at me. Suddenly, he got down onto his knees. He pulled out a small jewellery box from his pocket and I gasped.

He opened the box to reveal a diamond ring. The ring had three diamonds on it. There were two clear and one blue.

He grasped my hand in his. "Gabriella Russo... I love you so much. I couldn't imagine my life without you. I know we've had a few problems along the way but I believe that that only made our love stronger. Will you please do me the honour of marrying me?"

I stood there staring at him. Marriage? I hadn't even started to think about that because I thought it wouldn't occur until a couple years later. I was only turning nineteen this year.

"I know you think this is too early. But Gab, I don't want to rush you. I'd be willing to wait until you get back from college to marry you if that's what you want. We don't have to rush into things. We're barely adults anyway." he explained.

"Oh Embry. Of course I'll marry you." I replied, smiling down at him. "There's not a single thing that would make me say no to you. But can we wait a few years? I mean, as you said we're barely adults." I said.

"You'll really marry me?" he said, standing up smiling brightly at me.

"Yes! In a couple of years though." I added, smiling back at him.

He took me in his arms and twirled me around happily. He put me down and grabbed my lips in a kiss.

"Oh Gab, I love you so much. I need to start saving up for the perfect wedding for you now." he teased.

"As long as I get to marry you, it will be perfect. Plus I don't even want that many people at it; a simple wedding with only family and close friends would be nice." I said.

"Simple wedding it is." he said, slipping the ring onto my left finger. "Come on, let's go tell everybody the news."

-0-

The past two months seem to go by in a blur. Alex's family had agreed to let me stay with them while I went to university in New York which was a good thing. I never knew how much stuff I had until I had to pack it all to bring to New York. Thankfully, Embry was there to help me out.

I was so worried about telling my parents about my engagement but turns out, Embry had asked my parents' permission to marry me before asking me. I smiled as I looked down at my engagement ring.

I was at the airport with the pack and my family. I was trying to hold back my tears because I didn't want to cry in front of them.

I went round giving everybody hugs and everybody told me little messaged that made me laugh and some made me want to curl into a ball and cry but I held my emotions in. Until it came to Embry.

"I'll come back to visit every holiday Embry. I'll call and text you everyday so make sure you've got your phone with you." I said, tears starting to come out.

"Come here." he said, pulling me into a tight hug. I couldn't help it anymore. My tears started to come out and it seemed impossible to stop it.

"I'm going to miss you so much." I said.

'I know, I'm going to miss you so much more." he said, staring me in the eye and kissing my forehead. "Remember, call me if there's ever a problem, no matter what time it is. I'm just a call away." he said.

I nodded and he wiped my tears away.

"Don't worry so much Gab. Those three years will go by quickly and then you'll be back with me here." he said, offering me an assuring smile.

"What did I do to deserve you?" I teased.

He winked at me.

Just then the speaker announced that all the passenges to New York should make their way through the security and go to their gates.

Me and Embry shared one last kiss before we pulled away.

I stared at everybody and grabbed my small backpack. I waved at everybody and they did the same in return.

I walked through the security but before they could disappear from my sight, I mouthed 'I love you' to Embry. This was just the beginning of our story.

Love really does have complications. But take it from me, it's worth it in the end.

**That's it! Stay tuned for the sequel! and remember to review aswell! Xx **


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